The Hindu : SHONALI MUTHALALY
Dubai’s spice souk is a medieval bazaar come alive with the sharp twang of spices from across the world
BURSTING WITH FLAVOUR A spice tray
To my eternal fascination, I recently met a girl who’s frightened of cardamom. We ate a dinner party in Abu Dhabi, standing in a friend’s kitchen discussing shoes, news and all things important when she spotted a menacingly large jar of cardamom on the shelf beside her. She recoiled in horror and then, between shudders explained that the little pods really scared her. Biting into one mid-meal was clearly the stuff of nightmares: “They’re all smooth and creepy and ugh.”
Spices really do have strange powers.
Once back in Dubai, it wasappropriate that we tookan abra (Arabic for a traditional wooden boat) across the dark, restless creek at night to hunt down the city’s enchanting spice souk. We were seated next to a group of Emiratis, in abhayas and kanduras for whom the crossing wasclearly routine. Beside them, there wereexcited Japanese tourists recording every minute of the journey with blinding camera flashes and squeals. Spices, like tourist attractions, tend to bring the most diverse people together.
We were hugged by a cloud of tantalising fragrances as soon as we got off the abra — cardamom, pepper and cinnamon intertwined with other, more unfamiliar, scents. Following our noses, we walked into the 18th Century. A row of colourful stalls bustling with people of all nationalities shimmered with the delicious scent of frankincense.
The souk, set beside the creek, trades in spices that have traditionally arrived by sea from all over the world, mainly the Far East, India and Sri Lanka. Today, while the rest of Dubai exults in air-conditioned malls boasting gourmet hot chocolate, caviar and Christian Dior, this souk remains obstinately unchanged.
We first noticed the rocks. Huge salt rocks and astonishingly bright bars of indigo, used to dye clothes. There…More
