There is a lot of information about shisha's on the linked pages I've given you but there are some experiences I want to share with you.....

Although not always possible, the best environment to enjoy a shisha is in the middle-east. Especially the Ritz-Carlton in Sharm El Sheikh is famous for their shishas, prepared by Ayman (be sure to ask for Ayman when you ask for a shisha near the Fayrouz restaurant). It is from him that I learned the following trick which I did not find on any article published on the web about shisha's

Fresh fruit shisha

Instead of the clay bowl, Ayman used fresh fruit! Simpy take an apple (an orange will also do fine). Cut off the top and make a hole with an apple corer in the middle so that it fits on top your shisha. Make the hole on the top a bit bigger but not deeper than halfway the apple. Now push cocktail sticks (or non-flavoured tooth picks) halfway the apple so that you make a roster halfway the hole in the apple.

Now that you've made your own 'clay' bowl, fill it with the best tobacco (or tobacco mixture) you have. I prefer the Mosh-al-Bahr apple flavoured tobacco and place thin perforated metal foil on top. Put it on the shisha, place your coal and be happy. (I will put some pictures here to clarify everything).

Using coals

There is a lot to say about the coal you use on top of the shisha, but my the best ones are the Dutch "Drie Koningen" self-lighting charcoal. A lot of people prefer the good old "natural" charcoal, but I think that they have had a bad experience with self-lighting charcoal from another brand. Some other brands use a lighter fluid that smells really bad, or use unpure charcoal. Never use the charcoal of the barbeque after you've used them to cook food, unless you like to smoke burned fat.

What do we put in the water

Of course plain cold water works fine, you can put something in to change the taste. Lemons, ice-cubes, mint, white wine and arak are my favourites, but not alltogether at once. If you put lemons in the water, it has a nice side effect that it keeps the glass base clean.

And what about the hose

Many people say: "never clean the hose with water", and this is a good rule for the starting smoker. This is because most hoses are made from a material that looks like thick paper, especially when you make it wet. All parts from the hose that shouldn't come lose comes lose. However, it is not true for the all-leather hoses. If you have bought a hose in Tunesia, you've got a good change that you've bought a leather hose. Sometimes you cannot see from the outside if you're dealing with a leather hose or not, but you can feel it by the way it bends, especially when you make it wet first.