The Beginning of the Spice Journey: From Asia to the Tables of the Ancient World
Cinnamon and cassia reached the Middle East nearly four thousand years ago, ranking among the most important commodities of the ancient trade world alongside cumin, coriander, ginger, and turmeric. Southern Arabia, known to the ancients as "Arabia Felix," was famed as a trading hub for frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatic resins.
To protect their monopoly on the market, Arab traders spun fantastical tales about ferocious beasts and venomous snakes guarding the sources of these spices, discouraging any competitor from seeking out the truth. Out of this trade grew what became known as the "Incense Route" — a network of land and sea paths linking the Mediterranean world to the sources of spices and aromatics in the south and east, passing through the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea all the way to India.
Dilmun and Tarut: A Trading Gateway Five Thousand Years Ago
Long before the Incense Route stretched across the peninsula, another civilization already controlled the arteries of Gulf trade: the Kingdom of Dilmun. This kingdom emerged on the shores of the Arabian Gulf roughly five thousand years ago, becoming a global trading gateway connecting Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley civilization and Egypt.
Dilmun's center stretched between the Bahrain Islands and Tarut Island — today part of Qatif Governorate — separated from the mainland by only a few kilometers. Archaeological finds on the island, some dating back to around 4500 BC, point to it having been an active port and trading post where goods from India, Persia, and China changed hands. Traces of this legacy still survive today in the pottery shards and stone seals unearthed on the island.
Gerrha: A Perfume Station on Arabia's Eastern Shore
In the centuries that followed the age of Dilmun, another trading city rose in eastern Arabia — one the Greek geographer Strabo recorded as "Gerrha," describing it as a city on a deep gulf, inhabited by Chaldeans who had come from Babylon. Gerrha played a central role in the Arabian aromatics trade and was one of the key ports receiving goods shipped from India, before they were carried overland by caravan to the Levant and Babylon.
Historians generally place Gerrha somewhere in eastern Arabia, with candidate sites ranging from Hofuf to Thaj near Jubail to the port of Uqair close to Qatif — without scholarly consensus on its exact location. Regardless of this ongoing academic debate, Gerrha's mention confirms that the stretch of coast from Qatif down toward Al-Ahsa was, since well before the Common Era, an active arena for the aromatics and spice trade between East and West.
Qatif: From Ancient "Al-Khatt" to One of the Gulf's Largest Ports
Qatif was known in antiquity as "Al-Khatt," and the ancient Greeks called it "Cateus." Thanks to its strategic location, its abundant freshwater springs that made it a fertile agricultural oasis, and its coastline on the Arabian Gulf, Qatif developed over the centuries into a thriving trading port along major routes connecting Mesopotamia, Persia, and India.
By the 13th century, Qatif had become the largest port on the western coast of the Arabian Gulf, renowned as a center for pearl diving and the pearl trade, while caravans carrying incense and spices passed through it as well. On Tarut Island, part of Qatif, the deep-water harbor of Dareen drew merchants throughout the Middle Ages: goods arriving from India and what is now Iraq were unloaded there, then loaded onto camels to be carried across the desert to the shores of the Mediterranean, and from there into Europe.
This strategic location did not escape the attention of ambitious powers. By the 15th century, the Portuguese had turned their gaze toward the Arabian Gulf, seeking to control the flourishing trade in spices and incense, and the effects of this struggle touched the Qatif oasis until the early 16th century.
A Legacy Still Alive in the Markets of Qatif
Today, thousands of years later, Qatif's traditional markets — such as the historic Al-Khamis Market — still carry the scent of those ancient trade routes. Among stalls of fresh dates and seafood, traditional Arabian spices remain a strong presence, as if a living continuation of the caravans that once crossed the desert centuries ago.
It is no coincidence, either, that the Arabic word "bahar" — meaning the spices and seasonings added to food — has, across the ages, also carried connotations of beauty and radiance, much as spices themselves were once a dazzling commodity, wrapped in legend, for which deserts and seas were crossed.
From this rich legacy stretching from Dilmun to Qatif, Bhar (bhar.com.sa) was born — a modern continuation of a long story of authenticity and quality, bringing back to today's tables flavors that traveled across centuries to reach us.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia (Gerrha, Tarut Island), Ithra, Arab News, and Arabic language dictionaries (Al-Mu'jam Al-Waseet, Contemporary Arabic Language Dictionary).