Flavourings, Condiments and Perfumes

Practically every main town in the Middle East has its attarine or spice street in the soukh or bazaar, where rows of very small shops (some as small as cupboards) sell spices and aromatics. Vendors lay them out with art to tempt those passing by with their delicate shades of gold and brown and their enigmatic shapes. They sometimes roast, grate or crush them to a powder in a mortar, on demand, and sift them through a fine sieve as they did centuries ago. They fill little cones made out of tightly rolled pieces of newspaper and offer them as though they were magic potions.