Hookah

“Until you smoke a hookah, you can’t really say that you’ve visited my homeland.”
-Salim al’Dhalsim, far trader from Thalusa, 1037 FB

Mention the Lands of the Tulamydes and most Aventurians imagine people sitting on cushions and smoking hookahs, or water pipes. This is an old cliché, but hookahs are a firm part of Tulamydian life. They are available in every tea house, inn, and caravanserai, and finely crafted versions are sold in every market in the Lands of the Tulamydes and in Arania.

Friends, business partners, and even enemies gather to share a pipe and converse, enjoy a snack, or play a popular game called Red and White Camels. Hookahs also figure prominently in sports and military celebrations. Merchants often don’t consider a deal closed until both parties share a hookah.

When tobacco supplies run low, nomads often add the skins of apples, oranges, dried flowers, or other fruit to the mix. This custom is gaining popularity with city-dwellers who find that these additions help mask the product’s normally unpleasant smell.