Physically, the Shisha (hookah) consists of a flexible tube, with a container of water at one end and a mouthpiece at the other. Above the container of water, usually at the top of a tallish stem, is a sort of ash-tray-cum-filter where charcoal and scented tobacco are allowed to smoulder slowly. Inhaling, by drawing on the mouthpiece, pulls the smoke down the stem of the tube, through the water and, via the tube and mouthpiece, into the mouth and lungs. Really, it's just a somewhat convoluted way of smoking, although the smoke is smooth, cool and tasty.

Name

Nargila is the name most commonly used in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Albania, Bosnia, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Bulgaria and Romania, although the initial "n" is often dropped in Arabic pronunciation. Narghile derives from the Persian word nargil, meaning coconut, and in turn from the Sanskrit narikela, suggesting that early Shishas were hewn from coconut shells.

Shisha, from the Persian word shishe, meaning glass, is the common term for the Shisha in Egypt, the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf (including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia), and in Morocco, Tunisia, Somalia and Yemen.

In Iran, Shisha is called ghalyun, ghalyun, or ghalyan, and in India and Pakistan the name most similar to the English hookah is used: huqqa . The more colloquial terms "hubble-bubble" and "hubbly-bubbly" are used by Red Sea tourists.