A midwakh, also spelled medwakh, is a small smoking pipe of Arabian origin, in which dokha

Dokha

Dokha is a mild Arabian tobacco mixed with leaves, bark and herbs, generally inhaled in small single servings from a miniature smoking pipe called a midwakh. It is popular in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and other Middle Eastern countries....

, a sifted Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 product mixed with aromatic leaf and bark herbs, is smoked. The bowl of a midwakh pipe is typically smaller than that of a traditional western tobacco pipe. It is usually loaded by dipping the bowl into a container of dokha

Dokha

Dokha is a mild Arabian tobacco mixed with leaves, bark and herbs, generally inhaled in small single servings from a miniature smoking pipe called a midwakh. It is popular in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and other Middle Eastern countries....

 flakes.

Midwakh are primarily produced in the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

, where they were traditionally used by sailors, and are especially popular in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...

 and Al Ain

Al Ain

Al Ain |Spring]]), also known as the Garden City due to its greenery, is the second largest city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the fourth largest city in the United Arab Emirates. With a population of 374,000 , it is located approximately 160 km east of the capital Abu Dhabi and about...

.

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.

Accessories

Some of the accessories of midwakh include: pipe cleaners, filters, small leather cases and dokha containers (both plastic bags and recycled plastic beverage bottles).

External links

• Arabic Medwakh Pipes and Dokha Tobacco Article at SaruDama.com