Shisha smoking

[sereia 0]

In Jordan you will see lots of girls in cafes smoking argileh (shisha). They have several places and they have places that are exclusively for men and you won't see any women there at all. They also have what are called "family establishments" where women smoke argileh and upscale cafes and hotels. Its pretty common in Jordan which is a relatively conservative country.

This is pretty much what I have observed in Egypt. There are lots of women & girls who smoke in cafes. I think the location plays more of a part than the gender. Some cafes are just hole in the wall places with all male clientele. It's considered trashy and disrespectful for women to go there (especially at night).

Also, the large establishments have children, families, and even young (I would say 17 & up) customers.

But, I have not seen a lot of women smoking cigarettes. It happens, but usually only in upper scale places. I think that's another example of location. The higher you go up in class of the place, the more is accepted.

DEFINITELY no smoking cigarettes in the street ! A girl that I work with (American-born Egyptian) asked me to walk with her on our lunch break one day & she walked to a side street and started smoking a cigarette. I was so uncomfortable. I felt like everyone was looking at us (even though they weren't). It is just socially unusual for a woman to smoke cigarettes in public in Egypt.

funny how its the opposite here. the higher up you go in class here in america, the less acceptable it is to smoke!

[monnik 0]

Well, not just smoking is accepted. I mean overall more things are accepted. Girls hanging out and laughing is a normal activity, but if they are in a shady neighborhood at a local cafe, then it makes their behavior look questionable. If they are at a high class cafe with a large minimum or high prices , then it's not even thought about. It is really weird. And I'm not saying it exists all over MENA. Just what I've seen in Egypt.

Also, if you're a foreigner here you get a one-up on whatever everyone else is doing. If no girls are smoking sheesha or cigarettes in a place, then a foreigner might smoke sheesha but not cigarettes. If no girls are allowed to sit at a certain cafe, then maybe a foreigner could sit there. (I only say this because ONCE, just once, my husband took me to his local cafe. It was about 11am and no other customers were there. And we sat outside and played dominoes until his dad arrived to pick us up. He said I was probably the only girl to sit there, but that rules are broken for foreigners sometimes.)

For example, the cafe that sparrow showed a picture of I have never seen girls smoking sheesha in there. Why ? I think it's because it's in the mall. It's in the middle of the community. Lots of people are walking by at all times and it's just not the upper end. It's medium classwise, I would say. I have smoked sheesha there once. (I don't smoke it really cause it gives me a head rush. But, if I wanted to, it would be accepted at that cafe because I'm a foreigner.)

Anyway, back to topic. Smoking sheesha is terribly bad for you !! And I hate the fact that my husband still smokes it and he is very addicted to it. He gave up cigarettes in September after 5 or so years. So, I am hoping that when we get to the states (If that ever happens) that it will be easier for him to quit. He knows how horrible it is for his health. I think he's addicted to the sociability of it as much as the nicotine. If he gives up sheesha, he may have to give up his friends & hangouts. He will be leaving them behind anyway when we go to USA, so I think it might be a smoother transition to give up sheesha then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[amal 4]

a1, how'd the mix go? my favorite is 2 apples and grape together...the fun part is it will taste different depending on how you mix it. If it is 1 side apple and 1 side grape u get 1 taste. If u mix it all together u get another. If u quarter it (like pieces of pie) u get another. THEN it can also vary depending on where u put the charcoal... I love playing with the hookah :)... I'm addicted to the flavors more than anything

amal

[MHS 0]

I don't really like smoking sheesha, it always gives me a headache My husband Hassan doesn't like it either, he is such a health nut!!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Anybody else have shisha smoking pix? I really enjoyed them in this thread.

[deadbird 2]

We were just there before Christmas, sparrow. I think that's the Afrikano Cafe. We usually sit outside though cause I will get a headache and/or head rush from all of the sheesha.

You guys were right across the street from us. We walk to the mall all the time.

It is the Africano Cafe! We kind of sat off to the side in the hallway. Ramy's sister didn't live too far from there either (and that's where we were staying) and we walked there almost every day of my trip!

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

That last one

[monnik 0]

Anybody else have shisha smoking pix? I really enjoyed them in this thread.

Me at the Khan El Khalili market... some old cafe I don't remember the name of.

2006

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Anybody else have shisha smoking pix? I really enjoyed them in this thread.

Me at the Khan El Khalili market... some old cafe I don't remember the name of.

2006

[Aymerlu 3]

Anybody else have shisha smoking pix? I really enjoyed them in this thread.

Me at the Khan El Khalili market... some old cafe I don't remember the name of.

2006

Cool pic! I'll have to dig some of my pics up when I'm home.

[SaadBell 0]

[sarah and hicham 3]

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

A shisha smoking camel. That's a good one for hump day!

[Alhamdulillah 0]

Anybody else have shisha smoking pix? I really enjoyed them in this thread.

Me at the Khan El Khalili market... some old cafe I don't remember the name of.

2006

I seriously would not post pics of yourself on here.... it doesn't look like you've been a member here for very long so you may not know about a certain incident by a certain hag... er uh "woman" that will not be named (mainly because I can't be bothered to remember her name lol) but photos have been snatched from here in the past to be used for sport so, like I said, I wouldn't post any.

Edited January 14, 2008 by Alhamdulillah