Caravansarai Hookahs

Hey, folks, it's been a while since I had time to do any posting to the blog, and I'm really sorry for that. Lots of things have been going on since my last post, so here's a quick recap:

• Because California's budget sucks right now, I took a REALLY early retirement from teaching. It was getting too stressful having to worry about whether or not my contract would be honored and if I'd lose my health insurance. When you've got a serious brain issue or having seizures like I do, you just can't afford to be without health care coverage. So to guarantee that I keep it, I had to retire. Maybe now I'll have time to post more regularly!


• We've got an air cargo container of Khalil Mamoon (KM) pipes coming to us in the next couple of weeks. It should have 10 of each style they make, so that's kind of exciting. Keep your eye out here for the announcement of their arrival and sale.


• The response to Saalaam Herbal Shisha surpassed anything we could have imagined. We know that some people prefer the buzz that comes along with using the tobacco brands, but we are thrilled to be supplying two local hookah lounges that serve Saalaam exclusively! It has also gone international, with representatives now in Russia and Latvia, and and negotiations on-going with reps in the Netherlands (Holland), Germany, the UK, Canada, and Australia. It's hard to imagine that back a couple of summers ago, when we recruited some of our regular customers to be samplers for us, that we'd see the success that we have. Thanks again, guys -- you know who you are!

We're working on a summer contest for one of those KM pipes I mentioned and as soon as we get the details all worked out with the legal peeps, I'll post it here. In the meantime, look for more regular posting from me as I branch out into areas that are related to hookahs without spending all my time talking just about the pipes. You'll soon find recipes for Egyptian food, photos of people and places to see in Egypt, virtual vacations to the Land of the Pharoahs, and lots more. I hope that you'll hang around and join in the fun!

It's that time again! Back by popular demand, we are holding another FREE sample promotion because everybody loves a freebie, right? We're offering one FREE box of 50 grams of Saalaam Herbal Shisha to the first 50 people who email us their name and shipping address. Once the 50 samples are gone, the promotion will end. One sample per person and per address, please. If you participated in the first promotion, you are not eligible for this one. But stay tuned for other FREE giveaways!

Carleen here. I have the most amazingly scented Pomegranate and Mango shower gel, and it got me to thinking about shisha mixes. To balance the tanginess of the pomegranate, I played around with a few different mixes and came up with a couple that I really liked and hope that you will, too. Although I don't typically smoke tobacco in the hookah (I prefer herbal shisha so that I don't cough a lot), this time I used Layalina tobacco. Here's what I came up with:

• 1 part Pomegranate with 2 parts Mango -- This one turned out to be my favorite. The sweetness of the mango provided a really nice balance to the tanginess of the pomegranate.
• 1 part Pomegranate, 1 part Coconut, 1 part Pineapple -- I enjoyed the tropical taste of this mix, and the flavors blended together well. The dominant taste in this mix, even though I put them together in equal parts, was coconut.
• 1 part Pomegranate, 2 parts Eskandarani Apple, 1/2 part Mint -- First, I have to admit that because I prefer the flavor of Saalaam Herbal Shisha's mint to anything I've tasted in the tobacco brands, I used Saalaam's Breeze O'Mint for this mix. This flavor started out sweet from the apple, took on a tang from the pomegranate, and ended with a subtle hint of cool, cool mint. Of all the mixes I made using pomegranate, this is the one that I would most likely smoke regularly.

Anybody else like pomegranate and have a good mix to share with me?

We've collected 100 requests for a free sample of Saalaam Herbal Shisha and are preparing them for shipment.

The promotion has ended. Thanks to everyone who participated. Your packages should arrive in the next couple of days for US participants; international participants can expect their packages within 10-21 days, depending on how quickly customs works in their respective countries.

Carleen here. Ok, so I've been on a grading frenzy all day -- don't want my students ticked off because I've been sitting on their papers too long. And although I had every intention of making a really informative post about why hookahs are not drug paraphernalia, I spent the day with essays instead.

Imagine my surprise when, about an hour ago, I checked one of our business email boxes just to see if there was anything pressing that needed to be taken care of tonight and discovered at least two dozen responses to the Saalaam freebie offer that I posted yesterday!

I guess a little blog pimping is a good thing. . .oh, and my recent discovery of a free pinging service that sends updates to all the blog search engines must be working as well. I wonder how the word got out so fast?

Anyway, before I sign off to finish my rendezvous with the stack of essays that's breathing down my neck, Ali said that he'll up the freebie offer to 100 people instead of just 50. I'll keep you posted when the limit has been reached.

Everybody loves a freebie, right? Ok, so c'mon and get happy with us! We're offering one FREE box of 50 grams of Saalaam Herbal Shisha to the first 50 people who email us their name and shipping address. Once the 50 samples are gone, the promotion will end. One sample per person and per address, please.

Carleen here, hanging her head in shame. I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted on our blog until I got the bright idea to pimp it a bit a few days ago. Life sure does have a way of getting in the way of all the things I intend to get done every day! So, what has been going on at Caravan trading since the last post? Here's the latest scoop:

WE HAVE KHALIL MAMOON PIPES!

Our last container, which arrived from Egypt a couple of months ago, included an exclusive Khalil Mamoon ice chamber shaft. Ali grew up with Khalil Mamoon's sons, who now run their father's business, and on his last trip to Cairo, decided to pay them a visit. The result of that visit was an amazing ice chamber shaft that is exclusive to Caravan Trading. Because the bulk of our business is wholesale -- that's how we are able to offer such low prices on such amazing pipes!--you might see a few of these shafts being offered on other sites. But no matter where you find them, they came from us! We're in the process of preparing our next container for shipment, and it, too, should have some more Khalil Mamoon shafts in it. So if you happen to be a fan of the Mamoon pipes, keep your eye out for the announcement that we've got a new shipment.

PIMPED BLOG

I've completely redone our blog! Ok, well it's not totally finished, but you should see at least a few different things. The new layout is much easier on the eyes and lots easier for me to keep organized. The box at the top left of the page includes an online store where you can see just about everything that we currently have in stock. There is also a slideshow of hookah photos that may not show up in the store. If you see a picture in the slideshow but not the store, just call us--we can tell you whether it's still available or not and how much it costs.

I've included a news section, too. With all the hookah hype that goes on in the media, it's important to keep up with the anti-smoking lobby and laws because they have a direct impact on your freedom to smoke hookah. Some of these groups are so radical that, if they had their way, we wouldn't even be able to smoke in the privacy of our own homes! If you happen to live in Southern California and can't find a place to smoke hookah, take a trip to Long Beach where the secondhand smoke hype doesn't have a stranglehold on city officials as you can read in this interesting article.

The links section isn't ready yet, but I'll start working on it soon. If you have a hookah-related blog or website of your own that you'd like me to add, send us a link so that we can check it out and we just might add it to our list.

NEW SAALAAM FLAVORS

We are so excited about the overwhelmingly positive response that Saalaam Herbal Shisha has received around the world. With distributors now in Russia, Germany, Holland, and Canada, we're looking forward to sharing this gem of a non-tobacco shisha with an even larger group of hookah fans.

At the moment, we have 9 flavors, tested and approved by our customers, available: Tiramisu, Spiced Chai, Chocolate Raspberry, Lemon Pucker, Breeze O'Mint, Wildberry, Boysenberry Blast, Key Lime Pie, and Cherry Cola. By summer, we will add Strawberry, Orange, Strawberry Kiwi, Cinnamon Apple, Banana, Coconut, Rose, Mixed Fruit, Mixed Berry, Red Cherry, Grape, Blueberry, Orange Blossom, Tamarindo, Chocolate Mint, Apple Cider, Watermelon, Summer Melon, Mystic Berry, Mango Mandarin, and several others. By the end of the summer, Saalaam will be available in 35 mouth-watering, zero nicotine flavors!

BLACK HOOKAHS

Over the years, we've had many requests for black hookahs. We've seen the mass manufactured Chinese models with black bases and wondered how anyone could gauge the water depth in the base when seeing it isn't possible. It took our craftsmen a while, but they finally figured out a way to get some sweet black bases without sacrificing the ability to determine water depth. Our latest shipment included some black bases in a few different designs, shapes, and styles.

So far, the most popular one by far is the Black Hieroglyph, which is shown in a single hose model on the left. The base is in the traditional shape and is made of white frosted glass that has been hand painted with characters from ancient Egyptian hieroglypics. Included in the design are the wadjet (also called the Eye of Horus) and the ankh (also called the key of life). Ancient Egyptians believed that the wadjet had healing powers and often used it as a protective amulet. The symbol of the eye was also part of the mathematical system that the ancient Egyptians used. You can learn more about the wadjets role in math here. The ankh symbolized life to the ancient Egyptians, which is why it's also called the "key of life." When Christianity came to Egypt, the ankh became the Coptic cross. Tour Egypt has an excellent article on the history, significance, and evolution of the ankh.

Another black hookah that we now have is the Black Giza with an unadorned pyramid shaped base. So if you want a solid black hookah with no decoration on it, this is the one you need. Like the Hieroglyph, the Giza is available in one and two hose models.

There are other happenings for me to report, but I will save them for another day. I'm going to do my best to post more frequently, honest!

We'll soon be adding a new product to our shisha line-up, and we couldn't be more excited about it! Saalaam, which means "peace" in Arabic, is a new organic shisha made in Egypt. Saalaam has been tested among hookah fans for months to determine things like which flavors are the most appealing, how long a bowl lasts, the intensity and color of the smoke it produces, and overall product quality. We brought some samples to the U.S. to share with our customers as well and since the response we have received about it is overwhelmingly positive, we signed up to become the sole U.S. distributor of the product. Our first container of Saalaam is scheduled to arrive from Egypt sometime in January 2008.

Saalaam has no tobacco, no tar, and no nicotine. Its unique mouth-watering flavors, several of which are not available in any other product on the market, will definitely add the "aah" of satisfaction to your hookah experience!

We still have some samples left so if you're interested in trying it out, give us a shout.