The Science of Spice

30 World of Spice

ALGERIA

NIGERIA

TUNISIA

GHANA

IVORY

COAST

Across the desert

From ancient times,

merchants found routes

across the Sahara to take

African spices, such as

grains of paradise, to North

Africa and Europe beyond.

Goods were transported by

camels in huge convoys

known as caravans.

Ghat

Casablanca

Marrakesh

Lisbon

Elmina

Timbuktu

For centuries this

ancient city was a

hub for trade in

spices, salt, gold –

and slaves.

Ain Salah

In the heart of the desert,

this city was a stopping point

on many trans-Saharan routes.

GRAINS OF SELIM

This musky spice, found

throughout West Africa,

is rare elsewhere.

GRAINS OF PARADISE

This spice led the coast

of West Africa to be known

as the Grain Coast.

World of Spice

AFRICA

Africa’s cuisine is as diverse as the land

is vast. From Casablanca to the tip of the

Cape, you will find spices that tell a

complex story: of kingdoms and empires,

of overland and maritime spice routes,

of slave trades, of European colonization,

and of migration within Africa.

SPICE REGIONS

The Maghreb p33

West Africa p36

Central Africa p35

The Horn of Africa p32

East Africa p34

Southern Africa p37

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