• The Insider
  • Planning
  • Sightseeing
  • Transportation
  • Food & Drinks
  • Going Out
  • Shopping
  • FAQ
  • Tours

Istanbul Insider

Istanbul travel guide and advice by locals.

Nargile or Turkish Water Pipe – 500 Years of Smoking Tradition

The Turkish water pipe or nargile (sometimes also called a hookah or hubble-bubble) 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.

Picture of a Turkish water pipe or hookah in Istanbul, Turkey.
A Turkish water pipe or hookah. © Photo by Jan Krömer

Nargile History in a Nutshell

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 better quality ones were ceramic, but glass bowls are more common. 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.

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.

Know Your Nargile

Main water pipe parts.
Main water pipe parts.

Today’s water pipe has four characteristic parts:

  • gövde – the body, a glass bottle which is half filled with water
  • marpuç – the long flexible hose that connects the bowl to the smoker
  • ağizlık or sipsi – the (detachable) mouthpiece atop the tube
  • lüle – the small cup-shaped bowl to hold the tobacco

These are the basic elements. In time however, nargiles became real objects of art. The bottles come in different colors and graceful shapes, the flexible hoses are often embellished with embroidery or woven handicraft art (holding the owner’s initials), and the plastic mouthpiece may be of fine porcelain or the more popular precious amber.

Immerse Yourself in Exotic Turkish Culture

What to Smoke

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. Water pipe tobacco (tömbeki) can be quite strong and gets its flavor from preparation with various fermented fruit juices.

Apple (elma) is a classic, but I 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. My personal favorite is the distinctly odd cappuccino.

Nargile Dos and Don’ts – How to Smoke

Each person in your 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. But please keep these rather strict rules of etiquette in mind:

  • draw in smoke gently, don’t take deep drags like you do with a cigarette
  • smoke in a well-ventilated place because of carbon monoxide hazard
  • never light your cigarette from the coals, this is considered very bad manners
  • always keep the nargile on the floor, never put it on an elevated level
  • 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
  • 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

Nargile cafés are places to talk and sip coffee, tea or fruit juices quietly, between puffs. Keep in mind that smoking a water pipe takes somewhere between one and two hours.

Cafe, Coffee & Evening Tours

Places to Smoke Nargile

Picture of a Tophane nargile garden in Istanbul, Turkey.
Tophane. © Henri Bergius

You’ll find the highest concentration of water pipe cafés in Tophane, hence its nickname Nargile Central. In most of the cafés there visitors can enjoy tree-shaded gardens. Three out of four places listed here are located in Tophane, while the first is located in Çemberlitaş.

  • Erenler Nargile – This café is located at Çorlulu Alipaşa Medresesi in Çemberlitaş. It can hold up to 200 people and of course has a garden. Besides plain and aromatic nargile, you can also enjoy an array of teas and soft drinks. It is open from early morning until 02:00.
  • Nargilem Kafe – This café sits next to Nusretiye Mosque with a nice garden. However, do also check out the inside with its attractive decoration and ceiling engravings. Both plain and aromatic tobaccos are available, as well as various kinds of tea and strong Turkish coffee.
  • Erzurum Nargile – This is one of Istanbul’s oldest nargile cafes, and was previously located under the old Galata Bridge. Just before the turn of the century the bridge needed renovation, so the café moved to Tophane. Like other nargile cafés in Tophane, it is open 24 hours a day. It also provides hookah services to tourist groups.
  • Can Nargile – This Tophane café is relatively new to Istanbul nargile scene. They serve aromatic tobaccos, strong coffee as well as some Turkish snacks. The cafe is open 24 hours a day.

Most establishments obey the smoking ban and have their nargiles positioned outside.

Further Recommended Reading

  1. Top 10 Outdoor Cafes in Istanbul
  2. Bebek, Istanbul’s Trendy Village along the Bosphorus
  3. Turkish Tea, an Offer You Can’t Refuse

Filed Under: Cafés, Drink Tips, Food & Drink Tips, Food & Drinks, Going Out, Travel Tips Tagged With: Hookah, Istanbul, Nargile, Smoking, Tradition, Turkish Culture, Water pipe

Comments

  1. Jeanette Ashjian says

    December 26, 2019 at 10:45 pm

    I have my fathers Nargile. It’s about 100 year’s old. The marpuc is beautifully beaded. Does it have a value.

    Reply
    • Erlend says

      December 27, 2019 at 10:22 am

      Hi Jeanette,

      I really have no clue about these things.

      I’m sorry.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Best Sellers

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Us

About
Contact
Frequently Asked Questions
Sitemap

Popular Attractions

Hagia Sophia
Topkapi Palace & Harem
Dolmabahçe Palace
Bosphorus Tour
Whirling Dervishes

Travel Tips

Accommodation & Locations
Airport Transportation
Istanbul Kart, Museum Pass, Tourist Pass
Public Transportation
Taxi’s in Istanbul

© 2011–2023 The Istanbul Insider – Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Affiliate Disclaimer
Istanbul Insider
Data and Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site.
Click below to consent ('Accept') to the above or make granular choices
Manage Cookie SettingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.

Your choices on this site will be applied only for this site. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by going to the Privacy Policy page of this site.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
_gat1 minuteThis cookies is installed by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit the colllection of data on high traffic sites.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
visitor_id5 yearsThis cookie include cookie name plus the unique identifier of the visitor account. The value stored is the unique ID of the visitor which is used for tracking the visitor.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.