On Spices

Pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves...the spices that for centuries moved the world’s economy in their storied transit from Southeast Asia to Europe all passed through Gaza. Its location, right at the narrow point between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, put it on the key routes linking the trade coming by sea from Asia and by caravan across Arabia to the Via Maris and the network of Mediterranean ports. Its position at the crossroads between the region’s major empires made it a nexus of trade from the Bronze Age on, as it weathered the rule of Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Ottomans.