A:
The hookah, aka the nargile, nargila, hooka, shisha, sheesha, okka, kalyan, ghelyoon, Ghalyan, water-pipe, or hubbly-bubbly, is one of the oldest social traditions of the Middle East and an integral part of any business deal, much like the Western handshake. It's also one of the few social activities in which men and women participate equally.
Originating in either India or Persia in the primitive form of a pipe made from a coconut shell, the modern hookah can be highly decorative and elaborate, but they're all designed around the basic principle of a long flexible tube that passes through an urn of water at the base, which serves the function of cooling the smoke as it's drawn through. To quote the official Web site of Las Vegas' oldest hookah lounge (the aptly named Hookah Lounge), "Unlike the anxious and tense demeanor of the cigarette smoker, the hookah smoker is very serene in his/her approach to smoking and to life." The tobacco smoked in a hookah pipe is known as shisha (or sheesha, tombac, gouza, or moassel) and is a blend of fresh dark tobacco leaves, fruit pulp (to flavor), honey or molasses, and glycerine, and typically has a very low nicotine percentage and no tar.
A few tips on hookah etiquette:
- Always put the hookah down first when passing it on and allow the next person to pick it up.
- Never light a cigarette from the coal of the hookah.
- Never blow outward while smoking.
- Never pull the hookah by the hose.
- There is no urgency to the smoking session, so smoke until you are satisfied, then pass it on.
- Never share your plastic mouthpiece with another person.
- If married, never smoke from the same hookah as any lady other than your wife.
- Use the hookah hose with your right hand. The left hand is considered unclean in many countries.
- Don't take too many photos in a hookah lounge; it disturbs the atmosphere.
- When you’re finished smoking your hookah, wrap the hose around the metal stem.
In recent times the popularity of the hookah has sky-rocketed in the U.S. and a lot of new venues have popped up in Vegas over the last year. What follows is not an exhaustive list (and we know of other Middle Eastern restaurants that offer the hookah after your meal, but are not technically lounges where you might go just to enjoy a pipe and a drink), but this should get you off to a good start.
- Paymon's Mediterranean Café and Hookah Lounge -- 4147 S. Maryland Pkwy., Tel: 702/731-6030 (ext. 1). Open since 2000, this is the oldest hookah lounge that we know of in Las Vegas. In fact, Paymon, the owner, claims to have originated the whole concept of the "hookah lounge" and owns the trademark on the name. It's attached to the café and adjacent Mediterranean market, which have been around even longer. Hours are Monday-Thursday: 5 pm-1 am and Friday & Saturday: 5 pm-3 am. They offer about 20 different flavors of sheesha at $15 for the first round and $12 refills. There's a fully licensed bar and 5-7 pm each day is happy hour, when all drinks and hookahs are half-price.
- Paymon's Sahara -- Located at 8380 W. Sahara, this newer venue opened in 2004 and is open 5 pm–1 am daily. Same happy hour times and prices apply. Tel: 702/731-6030 (ext. 2)
- Hookah Palace –- 1030 E. Flamingo. This lounge/nightspot has only been open for a couple of months, but they tell us they're doing good business. Currently open 5 pm to 5 or 6 am daily, they're in the process of applying for their gaming license and hope to soon be open 24/7. In addition to many hookah flavors, including apple, apricot, banana, coconut, cherry, coffee, jasmine, mango, orange, pistachio, and vanilla, they also serve Mediterranean, Latin, and American food and feature belly-dancing nightly. It's $10 for your first pipe and $5 for a refill. Tel: 702/734-4654.
- Olive Mediterranean Grill & Hookah Bar: 3850 E. Sunset Rd. (Annie Oakley Dr. & Sandhill Rd.), 702/451-8805. Hookah Special: $9, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (hookahs usually start at $11.95)
Update 04 September 2008
We now have a whole section dedicated to
Hookah Lounges in the
Nightlife section in "Shows & Nightlife." (There's a separate section dedicated to
Cigar Lounges, too.) Also, a trend this summer was for certain pools, including The Pond at Green Valley Ranch and the GO Pool at the Flamingo, to offer poolside hookahs. For details on this and other amenities, check out our
Las Vegas Cool Pools feature,
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