In the earliest stages the pipe was made of one entire piece of clay, but soon the fact was established that this substance became so heated as to decompose the tobacco. Metallic and other pipes were tried, but still the same evil existed; until wood became the most popular material. But that being combustible, the flavor of the tobacco was deteriorated; and at last the arrangement was made of a stem of wood with a bowl of clay attached to it, to contain the ignited plant. The wood was a nonconductor of heat, capable of being constructed of any length, and moreover, easily cleaned, so that this was pronounced the great desideratum.
The Turks have displayed the greatest refinement and taste in the manufacture of their long and beautiful chibouks or pipe-stems, to which they attach the amber mouth-piece, so agreeable to the lips and free from all impurities.
A peculiar species of clay was discovered in Turkey so remarkably argillaceous as to supersede all other substances for the construction of pipe-bowls; and these Oriental and philosophic smokers have displayed their wisdom and science in the peculiar form into which they have molded them. The form of a lüllé, or Turkish pipe-bowl, is that of an inverted cone, the base of which, when filled with tobacco, forms the surface. The design of this form is to present a greater surface of exposure to the atmosphere, and to bring a smaller body of tobacco in contact with the bowl, which is made as thin and delicate as the nature of the material will permit, so as to possess the least quantity of body, and thus less power of retaining heat. The pipe should be lighted in the centre of the bowl, not with a piece of paper, which would scorch the surface of the tobacco, but with a small piece of spunk. At each inhalation the ignited circle enlarges and extends toward the edge of the bowl, and as the combustion takes place proportionally downward, it is evident that all the tobacco is consumed without the assistance of fingering it, as the Germans are in the habit of doing.
The stem is always of wood, but great care is used in its selection. Jasmine is cultivated expressly for pipe-stems, and carefully trained so as to increase in length and uniform thickness. Cherry-stems are much prized and more durable than the jasmine, and there is a species of wild fruit tree called germeshek, peculiar to Turkey, remarkably suited for the use of tobacco, and very generally used. These pipe-stems are never less than four or five feet long, and perfectly straight. The object gained by the length is that the smoke arrives at the lips comparatively cool, having deposited its more solid particles in the stem, which being perfectly straight is easily cleansed; for it is an essential point that the pipe should, contrary to German philosophy, be kept pure. Still another advantage gained by the length is that the pipe may be easily disposed of for the moment, resting by the side or against a table without deranging the tobacco in the bowl, which should always have a small brass tray beneath it to protect the floor from any accident.
Certainly, then, a Turkish chibouk is unequalled as an implement for smoking. The pure amber mouthpiece often glittering with brilliants, the long stem, one unbroken length of slender jasmine, and the delicate and beautifully-gilded bowl, seem to constitute the very essence of refinement in the luxury of smoking; and no wonder that the Osmanlis recline for hours on their silken cushions, and puff and puff again “ambrosial gales.”
One reason of the luxury displayed in the Turkish pipe is, that the chibouk is an indispensable appendage of hospitality, always presented to the guests, and constantly changed and replaced by another, each successive pipe exceeding its predecessor in beauty and value, until the visit is terminated.
The chibouks and narghillés are symbols of luxury and wealth among the Osmanlis, as services of silver are appendages of elegant life to the Europeans, and there is great ambition to excel each other in the costliness of their appurtenances of smoking. Many of the pashas and other men of wealth, possess chibouks to the value of $50,000, ranging from $10 upwards.
Sultan Mahmoud was forced to issue an edict forbidding the hosts to present them to visitors, and ordering that every one should provide his own chibouk. Hence the appendage to all gentlemen of rank of a Chibouk-gy, who always accompanies his master.
The narghillés or hookahs are also very popular, and often of exquisite workmanship; but pipes being more portable and handy, are generally preferred. The effort necessary to draw the smoke from the narghillé is, by some, considered as objectionable, but a little practice soon habituates to its use, and certainly with this instrument we have the smoke in its greatest purity.
But it is not only the utility and beauty of the long chibouk which constitute the Osmanlis the best and most philosophical smokers. There is no tobacco in the world so delicious as the Turkish; so varied in its degrees of narcotic strength, or so carefully prepared, and a taste once being acquired for this species of the plant, all other varieties become intolerable. A growing taste for this tobacco has of late been acquired in America, and the increasing demand for this article has induced speculators to flood the market with spurious imitations or adulterations both imported and of home manufacture. Even in Turkey the greatest connoisseurs can, with difficulty, procure the best species; there are so many varieties offered for sale; the very worst kind, of which so much is exported to America, being from Smyrna and its immediate neighborhood. The tobacco most valued, and justly so, for its pure and aromatic flavor, is only raised in a small district of Thessaly, in European Turkey, and is called Yenijé tobacco, from the name of the region where it is cultivated.