Serious About Hookah

Some people take their hookah smoking pretty seriously.  You can see a hookah pipe in the above photo sitting in a corner of an open air patio overlooking a marina on the Red Sea.  What a lovely view to enjoy while smoking a hookah!

Notice in this next photo how the pipe from the hookah actually goes into a spout in the wall. 

And where does that pipe lead?  Well, it goes through the wall into a large living room area of the apartment.  The mouthpiece is visible inside a large basket where the hose is gently looped to accommodate it.  I didn't mesure the length of the hose, but it was long enough to pass it all around the room.  And the lovely view is still visible through a large picture window looking down on the marina.  This kind of hookah equipment and special set up is obviously for very serious hookah smokers! 

Saudi Arabia: Hookah Smoke Shop

Aromatic flavored tobaccos, colorful hoses, pretty water pipes - and anything else you need to smoke "Hubbly Bubbly" at home are all available at the countless hookah shops in Jeddah.  In the past year as smoking in public has been banned in Jeddah, many restaurants and hookah lounges have had to change their game plans.  Smoking is still permitted in outdoor spaces, so many restaurants and lounges have adapted to set up their customers with hookahs on rooftop or patio spaces.  Smoking sheesha continues to be a thriving business here in Jeddah despite the ban and despite reports linking it to a variety of health issues. 

Green Lit Hookah Shop

Smoking in public places is another issue where I have seen progress in Saudi Arabia in the five years I have lived here.  Moving to KSA from a smoke-free environment, I was not happy to discover smoking was allowed here.  Smoking was finally banned at the kingdom's airports in 2011.  Late last year a ban was enforced on smoking in public places, outlawing it in places like restaurants, malls, etc.  Although some people continue to smoke in malls, etc., defying the ban, I have to admit that there has been a great improvement.  Hookah lounges are allowed to offer smoking in open outdoor spaces.