Mystic Mist: The Rituals of HuqqA

Bringing together the global hookah culture in a luxurious ceremony, HuqqA is preparing to present to readers the book titled “Mystic Mist: The Rituals of HuqqA”, created as a result of its collaboration with the world-renowned publishing house Assouline. Included in the Classic collection, the work examines in detail the historical journey of hookah, its aesthetic transformation, and its new interpretation combined with the modern guest experience. The book has been structured to appeal not only to hookah enthusiasts, but also to a wide audience interested in design, culture, and lifestyle.

FROM THE NEW WORLD TO PALACES AND COFFEEHOUSES

In the text, the story begins with the journey of tobacco from the New World to palaces and goes on to describe how hookah became a symbol of status and elegance among elite circles in India and Iran. It emphasizes how, over time, finely crafted bodies, ornate bowls, and sets highlighted by handcrafted details turned into art objects. A line is then traced to the Ottoman-era coffeehouses, where hookah became an indispensable part of conversation, literature, and public life, and to how, as Western travelers carried this ritual back to their own countries, it became fashionable in European social life. In this way, hookah is positioned as a cultural bridge and a shared ritual between different geographies.

HOOKAH AS A PRACTICE OF SLOWING DOWN AND COMING TOGETHER

At the center of the book, hookah is highlighted as a practice of “slowing down” and “coming together” within the accelerating pace of modern life. Friendships formed around the smoke, long conversations, and small pockets of time that open outside the rush of daily life are placed at the heart of HuqqA’s guest experience. In HuqqA venues, hookah is handled not merely as a beverage or a means of tobacco consumption; with specially prepared blends, carefully selected sets, and an expert team that orchestrates the ritual, it is treated as a holistic sensory experience. The text describes this approach through the idea of “a ceremoniousness redefined in the modern world”.

A COLLECTIBLE BOOK WITH ELEGANT DESIGN AND RICH VISUALS

“Mystic Mist: The Rituals of HuqqA” also stands out as a collectible book that draws attention with its elegant design. The finely executed print quality, the rich visual world spread across the pages, and the support of the hookah ritual with archival images from different periods elevate the work to the level of a classic coffee table book. In the book, which consists of a total of 256 pages, there are both historical illustrations and photographs selected from archives, and contemporary shots produced specifically for the brand. Thus, while the reader is presented with coffeehouse scenes from the past, palace interiors, and old hookah sets, they also encounter an updated hookah ceremony in today’s luxury venues.

AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPHER AND CURATORIAL COLLABORATION

The author of the text is a journalist known for international experience in the fields of travel, fashion, and gastronomy. He uses the knowledge he has gained in different countries to describe the border-transcending nature of hookah culture and invites the reader to a reading that is both historical and sociological. The photographer undertaking the book’s visuals is a photographer who has worked for many years with distinguished brands around the world and is known for frames with a documentary feel.

The images bearing his signature reflect both the design of HuqqA venues and the fine details of the hookah ceremony with a cinematographic atmosphere. The collaboration on the curatorial side of the project has been realized with a figure who is particularly known for art and publishing projects related to the region.

ARCHIVAL IMAGERY AND CONTEMPORARY INTERIORS IN DIALOGUE

Among the visuals featured in the book are hookah scenes selected from the collections of historical libraries, 19th-century engravings, everyday life shots from old Istanbul and surrounding geographies, and portraits reflecting the clothing culture of the period. These archival materials show that hookah was not only a consumption habit, but also part of the aesthetic understanding and social codes of its time. In the modern photographs, the warm textures in HuqqA’s interior designs, lighting preferences, the formal diversity of the hookah sets, and the atmosphere shaped around the guests come to the forefront. In this way, the aesthetic continuity between past and present is presented to the reader as a visual story.

HUQQA SIGNATURE APPROACH TO THE HOOKAH RITUAL

HuqqA’s approach to hookah is described in detail in the book. Experts who manage the guest experience and assume a kind of “sommelier” role carefully design all the steps, from hand-preparing the tobacco to choosing the water and aromas, from filling the bowl to adjusting the coals. A wide range of hookahs is offered, from playful and fun designs that appeal to different styles to more sophisticated lines. This narrative reinforces the idea that, as in the past, hookah today is also a ritual that requires a certain refinement, knowledge, and attention.

A TRANS CONTINENTAL JOURNEY OF THE HOOKAH RITUAL

“Mystic Mist: The Rituals of HuqqA” does not confine the stories shaped around hookah only to the East or to a specific geography; on the contrary, it also conveys the journey of this ritual across different continents. This line, extending from European salons to meeting points in modern metropolises, shows how hookah has been reinterpreted over time and how it has sometimes been perceived as a fashion element and sometimes as a deep-rooted tradition. By presenting this multi-layered structure to the reader through both text and visual language, the book aims to break one-dimensional clichés about hookah.

ASSOULINE LINE AND CULTURAL MEMORY OF THE HOOKAH RITUAL

The work bearing the Assouline signature joins the ranks of distinguished books prepared in the fields of culture, travel, and lifestyle. This line, known in the publishing world especially for its design and print quality, carries the hookah ritual to the same aesthetic level together with HuqqA. Even though the smoke of the hookah disappears within a few minutes, the book emphasizes that the memories and cultural heritage it leaves behind endure for generations and invites the reader into this world with both a nostalgic and contemporary gaze.

A COMPREHENSIVE WORK REDEFINING HOOKAH CULTURE

Ultimately, “Mystic Mist: The Rituals of HuqqA” positions itself as a comprehensive work that goes beyond viewing hookah as merely a means of pleasure and redefines it along the axes of art, design, hospitality, and cultural memory. According to information obtained by the few.ae editor, the book brings together a tranquil evening spent in a luxury venue, a black-and-white photograph unearthed from the archives, or a masterfully designed hookah set as parts of the same story, standing out as the kind of work for which both collectors and anyone interested in hookah culture will make room in their libraries.