Caravansarai Hookahs

We've sold hookahs to at least two different production companies in the past year. Interestingly, they let us know that they would be using our hookahs in the movies they were making, but neither company was at liberty to reveal the name of the films. Whether this was just a marketing strategy on their part to get us to go to the theater more often in the hopes of seeing our hookahs on the big screen or some kind of legal issue, we don't know. But, it did inspire our list of 13 movies in which hookahs appear. Enjoy!



1. Hidalgo: We'd be disappointed if this movie didn't have a hookah in it considering that it is the story of a horse race in Arabia!


2. (Indiana Jones and the) Raiders of the Lost Ark:


3. Star Wars: Pop culture's most famous -- or should we say, INfamous -- hookah smoker is, without a doubt, is Jabba the Hut of Star Wars fame. Not your everyday pipe, Jabba's hookah has a special bowl at the bottom where he keeps various live "snacks." This dude is also a serious hookah fan, as he is hardly ever seen without his pipe.


4. Disney's Aladdin: At the beginning of the movie, a merchant who tries to sell the lamp and tells its story, has a hookah for sale. It's not just any old old hookah, though, it's a combination hookah and coffee maker that also makes julienne fries. Now that's one heck of a hookah!


5. The Spy Who Loved Me: Among the gadgets in Q's lab are a decapitating tea tray, a spring mounted pouffe, a hookah that doubles as a machine gun, and a camel saddle that conceals a large spike.


6. Casablanca: Set in Morocco, where the hookah is part of everyday life, it's no wonder that Bogie's best known movie has a hookah in it!



7. The Matrix Reloaded: The twins are smoking an Indian style hookah.



8. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels: It's not easy to see, but there's a hookah in this scene!



9. 300: We looked far and wide, but couldn't find a picture for this one. Trust us, though, there be hookahs in this film.

10. Algiers: Movie buffs might be familiar with this golden oldie starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr.


11. Casino Royale: Mata Bond, said to be the "love child" of James 007 Bond and Mata Hari, is an accomplished belly dancer and hookah smoker.

12. Rendition: A CIA agent receives a phone call from his boss while he's smoking hookah in a belly dance club. Considering that this film is about Muslim terrorists, we shouldn't be too surprised to find a hookah in it.

13. Alice in Wonderland: Disney's famous hookah-smoking caterpillar is, by far, the most famous hookah smoker in the world of film!



And before we sign off, there are a few other films we discovered with hookahs: Click, Octopussy, and Pirates of the Caribbean at World's End. There are probably lots more, especially among the film classics.

Carleen here shouting to the world that the grading marathon has ended! And in celebration of this wonderful event, I put some Khalil Mamoon Ice hookahs on sale at 20% off with free UPS Ground shipping to a street address in the 48 contiguous states. If you buy one and pay with Paypal, you can also get 5% cash back by signing up for our My Store Rewards program.

The sale ends in two days so if you've been thinking about adding a KM to your collection, here's your chance to get one at a fantastic price.

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!

• Owner finds the Carlisle market has a pent-up hunger for Indian fare

Javid's Indian Grill & Hookah Lounge
240 N. Hanover Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
(717) 240-0100
Hours of Operation: Monday-Thursday, 11-10; Friday & Saturday 11-11
Map / Directions

The beauty of stained glass windows in the cathedrals of Europe is surely a sight to behold. The dedication and craftsmanship required to produce such magnificent art is, sadly, for the most part, locked away in the past. In our fast-paced world, most people have fail to appreciate or understand the time and attention to the detail that goes into producing such finely crafted pieces of art, thus they are unwilling to pay a fair market value for them. If a craftsman will not be adequately compensated for his work by consumers who desire what he has produced but are unwilling to pay for it, he must turn to other avenues to earn a living and when this happens, arts and crafts are lost to future generations.



When Ali came across an artist in Egypt who had a penchant for painting stained glass Arabesque designs on hookah bases, he quickly hired him to design glasses exclusively for us. We know a true treasure when we see one and are determined to keep the arts and crafts movement alive and well in Egypt! These stunning hookahs can't be found anywhere else, unless I was nice enough to allow one of our wholesale customers to buy a few from us and when I did, it was only a couple of select models.

These authentic Egyptian hookahs come in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from the traditional to the batta (Arabic for "duck" and referring to the rounded bottom which resembles a duck's, shall we say, "waddle"?) to the pyramid.

The stained glass look, such as the one on the right, is available in 22-inch one and two hose models or 32-inch one, two, three, or four hose models. With so many colors on the glass, the possibilities for hose options are amazing: red, yellow, blue, green, maroon, and black all look fantastic on this hookah! Best of all, these are colors that we have in stock at all times. You could have matching hoses in a single color, or with a multi-hose hookah, choose two, three, or even four different colors -- that's a different colored hose for each smoker. Just imagine the creative possibilities with this one glass!


The amber colored Arabesque hookah is unique both for its design and its color. The picture on the left shows it in the batta shape, but it is also available in the traditional style. Warm amber colored glass is hand painted with black and gold Arabesque designs. The best thing about these glasses is that because each one is painted by hand, the designs vary slightly on each glass. This means that every one is slightly different, resulting in a 100% unique hookah every time.

We firmly believe that to keep the arts and crafts of the past alive, we need to do more than admire them in photos. We need to pay tribute to the men and women who keep these time-honored traditions alive by sharing their craftsmanship with the world. Machine-made goods are fine for some things, but they will never be able to reproduce the artistry of the human touch or add the charm from an artist's hand to a product!

With the Orientalism movement of the late 19th century, European artists introduced the world to the hookah. The Orientalist painters, fascinated with the mystery and romance associated with Egypt and the Middle East, began to travel to places like Cairo and Tangiers in search of subjects for their art. What resulted was not only some fabulous fine art but also the spread of knowledge of the hookah. Many of the images in Orientalist paintings include a hookah, such as Arab Girl with Water Pipe by Gerome. The piece depicts a young woman seated on a ledge in a Cairo alley. The doorway behind her is called a "bab" or gate, and Islamic Cairo (the part of Cairo where the famous bazaar, Khan el-Khalili, is located) has several of them. Soldiers closed and guarded these gates at night to offer protection from invading forces. Several centuries later, parts of the city are still identified by the names of the gates closest to them. Ali comes from one of these gated areas of Islamic Cairo, and it just so happens that this particular part of the city is best known for -- you guessed it -- HOOKAHS! Is it any wonder that Ali's family has been a part of the hookah industry for generations, then? Back to the painting. . .notice how the hookah is made of metal rather than glass. Glass, because of its fragility, was more expensive than metal and was therefore the hookah of choice for those who had enough money to replace them should they break.

In Cafe House in Cairo, the artist gives us a bird's eye view of the precursor to the contemporary hookah lounge! Coffee shops in Cairo don't look like this anymore, even the very old ones. Now they are filled with tables and chairs where people, mostly men, sit to discuss politics, tell jokes (Egyptians LOVE jokes and tell some great ones!), play backgammon or chess, drink tea or Turkish coffee, and smoke shisha (the name for hookah in Egypt). They are centers of social activity day and night, and it is not often that you will find a coffee shop without a few patrons. The oldest coffee shop in Islamic Cairo, which is located across the street from the Al-Hussein Mosque, belongs to a distant relative of Ali's mother. The place is always packed with locals and tourists wandering through the old part of the city. Again, the hookah is made of metal rather than glass, but that is about to change. . .



In Eugene Delacroix's Algiers, we finally get to see a hookah with a glass base! Notice that it is a household hookah used by women? Because it is not likely that the hookah would see the same kind of hard use from women as it would from men, the glass base is a safe investment. Furthermore, the delicacy of the glass serves as a metaphor for the male belief in the fragile nature of the female. Notice, too, how it is considerably smaller or shorter than the metal hookahs that the men use. Another interesting thing to note about the hookah is its shape. Rather than the traditional bell shaped glass commonly associated with the hookah, this one has a bulb shape (also called ola after a clay water vessel). In terms of symbolism, this bulb shape is representative of the female form, especially the pregnant female form. This hookah is definitely a woman's pipe!

I hope that you have enjoyed a brief introduction to the hookah in fine art! There are many more examples available for your viewing pleasure. To find them, do a web search using Orientalism and Fine Art as your search terms. The links below will take you to our eBay store where you will find some authentic Egyptian hookahs like the ones in the paintings. Enjoy!

• 22" 2-Hose Nefertiri Authentic Egyptian Hookah (Comes with a free Caravansarai exclusive golf style carrying bag!)
• 22" 2-Hose King Tut Authentic Egyptian Hookah (With the fabled King Tut Exhibit making its way around the world again, this hookah is the perfect way to remember the Boy King!)
• 34" 1-Hose Gold Camel Authentic Egyptian Hookah (A stunning rendering of the famed ship of the desert on a traditional hookah.)

With all of the boxes lining the walls and aisles of our warehouse, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas despite the unusually hot and humid weather that has become the "norm" for the last month in Southern California. As we unpack a box and stock the shelves, I find myself making the same ooh and aah sounds that a kid opening a birthday or Christmas present would make! There are so many new and exciting things to see and so many new hookah designs to play around with.

Since I am the chief photographer, I've been anxious to get the boxes unpacked so that my imagination can run wild as I match glass to stem and hose(s). The possibilities seem just about endless thanks to the dozens of new glass designs in this shipment. Color, color, and more color -- red, yellow, green, dark blue, baby blue, teal, lavender, blue violet, red violet, orange, clear, frosted, tinted, etched, hand painted. Shapes -- oh, the shapes! Pyramid, globe, ola, genie, traditional bell. Cobra, wooden, glass, resin, and glass mouth pieces on colorful hoses that measure a full 6 feet in length. It's no wonder that my shutter finger is itching to get to work! I did manage to put a few of them together and to get them listed on eBay last night, but there are so many more to do.

Here's what I've done so far:

• 22" 2-Hose BLUE VIOLET Authentic Egyptian Hookah
• 22" 2-Hose BLUE NILE Authentic Egyptian Hookah
• 22" 2-Hose SAMAR Authentic Egyptian Hookah
• 22" 2-Hose RED GIZA Authentic Egyptian Hookah
• 22" 2-Hose RED VIOLET Authentic Egyptian Hookah

Once the weather cools down a bit and the warehouse temperature is more comfortable, I'll get more pictures. In the meantime, we'll have to make do with the few that I was able to snag as they were being shelved.

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of PURPLE HAZE, our exclusive purple hookah! With so many customers asking us for a purple or a pink hookah, we just had to have some made. You won't find another hookah seller with purple hookahs!