A coffee and a smoke in Tunis

CIGARETTE? Not for me, thanks. But a waterpipe - or shisha - is a different
proposition.

The deliciously smooth and exotic mix of tobacco and molasses filtered through
water fills me with a longing to be, just for a second, on the sunlit
streets of Damascus, Marrakesh, Cairo or Tunis.

I love the shisha - its sturdy, curving base, thin stem, charcoal holder and
the tongs that go with it. In Tunis last summer for an Arabic course, I was
soon ordering wahad shisha tufair, an apple shisha, as naturally as I would
a cup of coffee.

Back in London, on the Edgware Road, the city’s %26ldquo;Little Beirut%26rdquo;, I had enjoyed
the ritual of sharing a waterpipe with friends after work, savouring the
delirious head rush at the end of a long day.