The Science of Spice

Middle East 21

Hormuz

Tehran

Aleppo

Sana’a

Berenike

SAUDIA ARABIA

YEMEN

OMAN

IRAQ

SYRIA

TURKEY

IRAN

Baghdad

Baghdad became the

premier city on the Silk

Road after 770 CE.

On to

China

Muscat

Muscat was a popular

stopping point for spice ships

en route between the Indian

Ocean and the Middle East.

Basra

LEBANON

ISRAEL

BLACK LIMES

Fresh limes are dried

“black” in the heat of

the Arabian desert.

POMEGRANATE

Pomegranates are grown

in the fertile crescent,

from Israel to Iraq.

BARBERRY

Dried, sour barberries

are a distinctively

Iranian speciality.

SAFFRON

Northeast Iran is

famous for its fields

of saffron flowers.

CHILLIES

Mild Aleppo chillies

from Syria are prized

across the world.

Road to China

Active from 114 BCE, this

overland trade route from

China was a conduit for

East Asian spices, notably

ginger and star anise. Now

essential to Turkish and

Persian cuisine, rose petals

were first brought to the

region by Chinese traders.

KEY

Historical spice trade routes

Ancient Silk Road

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