Will Syrian Latakia Return?

[Sigmund]

No one puts in much hope but if we decide its ok to exercise prejudice are we really being any better?

We can hope, watch and then react appropriately. If we decide and act in advance we are no better.

A decision without information is not an analysis.

If we want to be considered better we must adhere to a higher standard

 

[cosmicfolklore]

No one puts in much hope but if we decide its ok to exercise prejudice are we really being any better?

We can hope, watch and then react appropriately. If we decide and act in advance we are no better.

A decision without information is not an analysis.

If we want to be considered better we must adhere to a higher standard

Unfortunately, you can't hope something into being. And, our pessimism stands as the weakest obstacle one would need to overcome into bring back a leaf that there is neither seed, forestation, nor enough demand for to make it profitable.
Woods shared a spreadsheet on US tobacco manufacturing for the last twelve years in another thread. Take a look at how small of an industry pipe tobacco is compared to cigarettes, and even those numbers are dropping every day.
If one stood to actually make a lot of money doing it, then the wheels would already be turning. Maybe they are... but my hope, will have no impact.

 

[Sigmund]

I was talking about little hope for sanity in the middle east. Not for tobacco. I think we need to temper our prejudice. Thats all

 

[Sigmund]

I was talking about little hope for sanity in the middle east. Not for tobacco. I think we need to temper our prejudice.

 

[Auxsender]

We are all human, until you turn away from the good, and you cease to be human.

Nope. Even bad people are human.
In fact, you could argue that our capacity for evil is a defining characteristic of being human.

 

[Zamora]

I do not believe that this new regime is thinking of exporting tobacco; this area will be another breeding ground for global jihadism, instability and barbarism.

Yep and Islamists tend to be anti tobacco, even a lot of moderate Muslims are. If tobacco farming increases no doubt almost all of it will be sold to Joe Camel

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yep and Islamists tend to be anti tobacco, even a lot of moderate Muslims are. If tobacco farming increases no doubt almost all of it will be sold to Joe Camel

Which makes it unusual that Turkey is known for their pipes.

 

[Zamora]

Which makes it unusual that Turkey is known for their pipes.

Tobacco use is still very high in most Muslim majority nations, just as alcohol use is common in many of them with a secular government. Culture often trumps faith like that

 

[Chasing Embers]

Tobacco use is still very high in most Muslim majority nations, just as alcohol use is common in many of them with a secular government. Culture often trumps faith like that

Oh, I'm not complaining.

 

[Zamora]

Oh, I'm not complaining.
View attachment 356791

Are the squid and pirate brown from patina or is it a darker wax?

 

[mingc]

Yep and Islamists tend to be anti tobacco, even a lot of moderate Muslims are. If tobacco farming increases no doubt almost all of it will be sold to Joe Camel

Huh? Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, 244 million, and they smoke like chimneys. Per Wikipedia: "Russia leads as the top consumer of tobacco followed by Indonesia, Laos, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Jordan, and China.[42]" Smoking - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking. Jordan is also a Muslim country.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Are the squid and pirate brown from patina or is it a darker wax?

Unfiltered yellow wax.

 

[Terry Lennox]

Cedar trees and other aromatic woods used in the smoky curing process are almost all gone from the Syrian landscape. The few groves left are protected.

 

[Zamora]

Huh? Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, 244 million, and they smoke like chimneys. Per Wikipedia: "Russia leads as the top consumer of tobacco followed by Indonesia, Laos, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Jordan, and China.[42]" Smoking - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking. Jordan is also a Muslim country.

Like I said, tobacco use is still quite high in most Muslim countries. The view that tobacco is haram is far from universal.

Unfiltered yellow wax.

Does it eventually come off and show the patina?

Cedar trees and other aromatic woods used in the smoky curing process are almost all gone from the Syrian landscape. The few groves left are protected.

Exactly, I'm honestly okay with Syrian Latakia not making a comeback for that reason.

 

[franklinpipes]

I saw somewhere on YT an interview with Jeremy Reeves and he said that it was unlikely to make a comeback, given the amount of effort it would take and the relatively small amount of tobacco that the pipe smoking community would use (albiet something that we think of as "large quantities")

 

[Chasing Embers]

Does it eventually come off and show the patina?

The dark wax lightens as the are smoked.

 

[Zamora]

I saw somewhere on YT an interview with Jeremy Reeves and he said that it was unlikely to make a comeback, given the amount of effort it would take and the relatively small amount of tobacco that the pipe smoking community would use (albiet something that we think of as "large quantities")

I think I saw that one. Plus everybody with any experience is either long since moved on or dead at this point. I suppose the Cypriots could instruct a new generation of Syrians, but I don't think they'd want to train competition.

 

[Zamora]

The dark wax lightens as the are smoked.

View attachment 356861View attachment 356862

That's cool, I always wondered

 

[Searock Fan]

Huh? Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, 244 million, and they smoke like chimneys. Per Wikipedia: "Russia leads as the top consumer of tobacco followed by Indonesia, Laos, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Jordan, and China.[42]" Smoking - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking. Jordan is also a Muslim country.

Tobacco is like rock n roll, it's here to stay.

 

[Mike N]

Here is an excerpt from a May 29, 2024, report I found on line. It mentions the Latakia region, but not that specific tobacco. Of course, this is before the recent regime change and does not mention deforestation issues that may still exist surrounding Latakia:

”Tobacco is grown in most Syrian provinces, notably the countryside of Hama, Latakia, Daraa, Quneitra, and Homs. Its economic importance comes from enriching the state treasury through taxes and profits, in addition to increasing national income, securing foreign currency, and meeting the needs of the local market, alongside providing job opportunities.

According to an article published by the General Organization of Tobacco in Syria in 2017, tobacco is considered one of the most important economic crops in the country, being the third agricultural crop.

At the time the article was published, around 60 thousand farmers were working in tobacco cultivation, with about 90 thousand people living off its cultivation, manufacturing, and trade.

In recent years, there has been a clear trend within the Syrian regime government to support tobacco cultivation and farmers by offering attractive purchase prices from farmers and supporting fertilizers, fuel, medicines, and other needs, at the expense of other agricultural crops that do not hold the same importance, such as wheat.”

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