A midwakh' ( ar, مدواخ, also spelled medwakh) is a small smoking pipe of Arabian origin, in which

dokha Dokha ( ar, دوخة, "dizziness" or "vertigo") is a tobacco product, consisting of dried and finely shredded tobacco flakes mixed with herbs and spices. It originated in Iran during the 15th century. Unlike hookah tobacco (also called "shisha" o ...

(), a sifted

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

product mixed with

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

leaf and bark herbs, is smoked. The bowl of a midwakh pipe is typically smaller than that of a traditional western

tobacco pipe A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber (the bowl) for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very simp ...

. It is usually loaded by dipping the bowl into a container of dokha flakes. Midwakh are primarily produced in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, and are especially popular in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Construction

The pipes may be custom made, allowing the smoker to specify the dimensions and design. Midwakh are crafted from a variety of materials including wood, bone, base metal, marble, steel, gold, silver, plastic (with a metal bowl), or glass. They may incorporate precious items such as diamonds, gemstones and rings of precious metal inscribed with symbols, such as a falcon similar to the one shown in the UAE coat of arms. The pipe may be crafted to resemble a dromedary camel, a highly revered animal in the UAE; the opening of the bowl shaped as the camel's mouth, with a small hole connected to a metal shaft inside the body of the pipe to conduct the smoke to the user. Among many modern variations of the midwakh, some are covertly disguised as pens, some can be split apart for cleaning, and some can have double bowls or double stems. Most midwakhs crafted today have a mouthpiece sized to fit a plastic filter.

References

{{reflist Pipe smoking Tobacciana Tobacco in the United Arab Emirates

Construction

See also

References