Nargile it’s a popular activity among Turks of all ages. Nargile cafés are places to talk and sip coffee, tea or fruit juices quietly. Between puffs you can spend hours lounging around.

The Turkish water pipe or nargile has been around for centuries. Contrary to popular belief, it is not an instrument to smoke hashish or any other drug. The only products used are different flavors of (Turkish) tobacco. There is nothing shady about this 500 year smoking tradition. It’s just a great way to slow life down and relax.

Although the water pipe is an established feature of Turkish culture, it originated in India by emptying a coconut and dipping in a straw. In the 16th century, the pipe – called nargile in Turkish – found its way to the Ottoman Empire. The nargile became popular in the 1700s, at the height of the Ottoman Empire. It even became a status symbol towards the end of the Ottoman Empire. Smoking with the sultan was considered the highest honor.

One of the most enthusiastic royal smokers was Sultan Abdülhamid II in the late 19th century.

With the arrival of cigarettes during World War II, smoking the water pipe briefly became less popular. But the late 1990s marked the revival of nargile. Nowadays, you’ll notice young adults, both men and women alike, enjoying its calming vapors.

In the old days only plain tobacco was used; however, now a variety of aromatic tobaccos are available. So the first thing you’ll have to do when you enter a nargile café is choose a flavor. Apple (elma) is a classic, but we encourage you to try other flavors too. There are many fruit and herb varieties such as strawberry (çilek), banana (muz), peach (şeftali), mint (nane) and many more.

Each person in our group will be given a plastic mouthpiece (sipsi). The staff will prepare your water pipe for you, no need to worry about that. He’ll put the tobacco of your choice on the tray, and supply hot coals. He will also wander about and tend these coals periodically.

Once everything is ready, place a mouthpiece atop the hose and start enjoying.

Please keep these rather strict rules of etiquette in mind:

1) Draw in smoke gently, don’t take deep drags like you do with a cigarette.
2) Smoke in a well-ventilated place because of carbon monoxide hazard.
3) Never light your cigarette from the coals, this is considered very bad manners.
4) Always keep the nargile on the floor, never put it on an elevated level.
5) Don’t hand the hose to the next user, just lay it against the side or on the table, the other   person will pick it up when he or she is ready.
6) Don’t spoil the relaxing and leisurely atmosphere by being loud. If you’re making more noise than the bubbles, you’re ruining it for everyone.