The hookah is usually traced back to 16th-century India and Persia, where people began drawing tobacco smoke through water in vessels made from coconut shells. The word “hookah” comes from the Arabic “huqqa”, a small box or jar.
In the Ottoman Empire the water pipe, known there as the nargile, became a symbol of hospitality and long conversations in coffee houses. Craftsmen turned it into an object of art, with glass bases, metal stems and long leather hoses.
Modern lounge culture is much younger. Sweet, flavoured tobacco (moassel) spread from Egypt in the late 20th century, and with it the colourful bowls and mixes most people know today. Yerevan's lounges are part of that newer wave: places to meet friends, talk late and try new flavours.