Photo Gallery

This map shows the historic spice trade routes that linked Asia, Africa and Europe for centuries. The red lines mark both the maritime routes across the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, and the overland caravan routes (often linked to the Incense Road and the Silk Road). They illustrate how precious commodities such as spices, resins (e.g. myrrh and frankincense) and essential oils were transported from their places of production in the Middle East, India and the islands of South-East Asia to Europe.

From ancient times to the present day, the Nile and its canals have remained the sole means of transportation in Egypt, serving both the humblest of boats and the magnificent royal vessels. Depictions of sailboats and rowboats were ubiquitous in Egyptian art. Indeed, the sun god and his retinue used boats to traverse the heavens and reach the afterlife. Before the construction of the Suez Canal, spices were transported by ship from India across the Red Sea to Egypt. There, they were loaded onto camels, driven down to the Nile Valley, and then reloaded onto ships. Together with other goods, they were eventually transported to the shores of the Mediterranean. Today, despite competition from railroads, trucks, and airplanes, goods are still transported by boats traveling down the Nile. The photo shows a felucca, a small, long, light, and narrow sailboat with two masts leaning forward. The sail, which has holes and is patched, still billows in the wind and allows the boat to follow the river’s course. – 1984

The Egyptian city of Quseir on the western coast of the Red Sea is dominated by the minaret of a mosque. Arab merchant ships also landed here with their cargoes of spices, which were transported by dromedaries along the Wadi El-Hamrnamat to Qus on the Nile, below Luxor. There, the cargo was transferred to feluccas—the two-masted Nile boats with lateen sails still in use today—which carried the goods to Cairo and Alexandria. – 1984

Every Tuesday, there is a camel market in the Upper Egyptian village of Dirwan. Most of these dromedaries come from Sudan and have been brought here in caravans. – 1984

In Bir-Abbad, Upper Egypt, dromedaries are being watered at a watering hole. This watering hole is located on an old caravan route between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley. – 1984

In Qurna, on the left bank of the Nile across from Luxor, a market is held once a week. Like so many other markets of this kind in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East, this market is visited by hundreds of people—sellers and buyers alike—and the atmosphere is perfect for attracting tourists. At these markets, you can find a little bit of everything: fruits, vegetables, and spices, which are an integral part of the locals’ daily diet. – 1984

This relief depicting a cargo boat with a distinctive amphora on board comes from the Mastaba of Idut (also known as the Tomb of Princess Idut) in Saqqara. The entrance area and the adjoining chambers of this tomb are world-famous for their dense, vivid depictions of life on the Nile. Directly at eye level, the reliefs there depict papyrus boats and wooden ships engaged in fishing and the transport of trade goods. The reliefs are among the best-preserved examples of Old Kingdom relief art. Many of the scenes still bear traces of their original colored paint. – 1984

Detail from the older part of Luxor Temple, 18th Dynasty. According to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, only the pharaoh was authorised to conduct religious services. This is why the temple reliefs always depict the king interacting with the gods, even though in reality he was represented by a large group of priests. In this section, Amenhotep III (1391–1353 BC), protected by the falcon Horus, offers sacrifices to the god Amun-Re (presumably on the right). These are placed on a tray held in the king’s hands and on a sacrificial table before him. They include drinks and food: water or wine, various types of bread, vegetables, chicken legs and plucked geese. The offering was presumably also enhanced with spices. On the sacrificial table, a slender libation vase and an elegant incense burner can also be seen, from which small flames rise, ready for the priestly rites that will take place in private. The floor is also strewn with flowers, which form part of the traditional offerings. – 1984

The Eyüp Mosque in Istanbul, Islam’s third holiest city after Mecca and Jerusalem. This magnificent building on the Golden Horn was constructed in 1458 over the supposed tomb of Eyüp Ansari, the standard-bearer of Muhammad, who fell during the first siege of Constantinople by the Muslims in 669 and was buried on the battlefield. The small columned pavilion in the foreground shelters the fountain used for ritual ablutions. – 1989

Four elderly men are enjoying the warm spring sunshine and reminiscing about days gone by. A typical street scene from Istanbul in Turkey. Such authentic moments, featuring elderly gentlemen sitting on wooden benches, have been a familiar sight in the cityscape of this metropolis on the Bosphorus for decades. – 1989

In the streets of Istanbul, one often comes across street vendors selling the characteristic ring-shaped bread to passers-by. The city’s location on the Bosphorus, where the Sea of Marmara meets the Black Sea and where Europe meets Asia Minor, has shaped its development; as Constantinople and Byzantium, it enjoyed centuries of prosperity. Istanbul’s many architectural monuments bear witness to this history, which is comparable in significance to that of Rome. – 1989

The Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul was built on the site of the former Venetian Market, opposite the Galata Bridge and behind the Yeni Mosque. The elongated building is topped with low domes. Amidst an atmosphere of oriental scents and mystery, every conceivable item is on offer here, including, of course, a wealth of spices. – 1989

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is situated in the heart of the old town. The first market halls were built in 1461 on the site of an old wooden market square and were used exclusively for the wool and silk trade. Gradually, however, the bazaar opened up to other trades and developed into a proper neighbourhood. This gigantic marketplace has eighteen gates, and nearly four thousand shops are crammed along the grid-like layout of arcades, streets and alleys. In the past, specific sections were reserved for each trade, which is no longer so strictly the case today. Nevertheless, carpet dealers, jewellers, leather goods and clothing sellers, for example, are still concentrated in certain sectors of the bazaar. – 1989

This impressive globe is on display at the Correr Museum in Venice. It makes it easy to trace the route of the Spice Route from Asia to Europe. - 1989

Just as in the days of the Spice Route, sailing ships occasionally drop anchor in the Giudecca Canal in Venice – a sight that is, sadly, becoming increasingly rare. During the heyday of the Spice Route in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance (from around the 13th to the end of the 15th century), Venice was the undisputed economic hub and the wealthiest city in Europe. The Republic of Venice held the European monopoly on the trade in Asian spices such as pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Venetian merchants did not travel to India or China themselves. They purchased the luxury goods at the end points of the Asian caravan and sea routes in the Middle East – primarily in ports such as Alexandria (Egypt), Aleppo and Antioch (Syria). Through skilful diplomacy and treaties with the ruling Mamluks, they secured exclusive access rights there. – 1989

Marco Polo’s house in Venice, with its doorway showing strong Byzantine influence (in the corner in the background). In the centre of the courtyard, the Corte Seconda del Milion, stands a well. The house was built in the 11th/12th century, and Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254. He travelled extensively throughout Asia and lived for nearly seventeen years at the court of Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of China. After returning to his hometown, he took part in a naval battle against Genoa and was taken prisoner. During his exile in Liguria, he dictated his memoirs, the ‘Book of the Marvels of the World’. This masterful travelogue remains to this day an inexhaustible source of information on the history, customs and traditions of Asia in the Middle Ages. Marco Polo died in 1324 as a highly respected man, known to his fellow citizens as ‘Messer Marco Milione’, as he was in the habit of estimating the Great Khan’s treasures in millions of gold ducats. – 1989

The Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice – built between 1505 and 1508 on the ruins of an older warehouse and, until 2025, set to become a luxury shopping centre and cultural hub near the Rialto Bridge – was, at the beginning of the 15th century, effectively a finance and customs ministry that played a fundamental role in the spice trade. – 1989

A 13th-century relief depicting a camel driver in Moorish attire, located on a wall of the Palazzo dei Cammello (or Palazzo dei Mastelli) in Venice. It is easy to imagine that the dromedary’s pack-sack is filled with spices. – 1989

Statue of a Levantine merchant on the corner of Campo dei Mori and Fondamenta dei Mori. The three statues at Campo dei Mori form part of the Mastelli family coat of arms; the Mastellis were renowned merchants during Venice’s heyday. Naturally, a spice shop is a must! – 1989

This statue of a Moor (Moro) or Levantine merchant is one of the three figures in the Mastelli group on the Campo dei Mori and stands next to the house of the painter Tintoretto, opposite the Rio della Sensa. This leading master of Venetian Mannerism was born in Venice in 1512 and died there in 1594. – 1989

In Venice, the hub of the medieval spice trade, food shops still sell bunches of fiery hot peperoncini on the high street, in keeping with a centuries-old tradition. – 1989

Sailing cutters and picturesque houses in Amsterdam’s Zandhoek district. This scene could have been painted by a Dutch master from the era when the Dutch rose to become Europe’s leading maritime power thanks to their dominance of the spice trade. – 1990

The Oostindische Huis in Amsterdam, the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC), is located on Oude Hoogstraat. The Governor-General and the Council of the Indies used to meet in the halls above the entrance. The building and its owners were closely linked to the cultivation, transport and sale of spices. – 1990

The famous, extremely picturesque Hooy spice shop in Amsterdam has been in business since 1743. It is one of the few remaining reminders of a bygone era when spices played a dominant role in the economic life of the Netherlands. – 1990