This chapter interweaves the author's personal journey, which begins in the deserts of Arabia, with a reconstruction of the beginnings of the Semitic peoples and the etymologic origins of the words for aromatics and spices . It also describes the properties and uses of frankincense. The book from which this chapter is taken—the author's Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey (University of California Press, 2014)—is the first to relate the spice trade to culinary and ecological imperialism and to demonstrate the indelible mark that Semitic peoples had in managing the spice trade not only in Eurasia, Africa, and Arabia but in the Americas and Caribbean as well. It demonstrates that globalization did not begin in 1492, as recently argued by several scholars, but grew out of intercontinental spice trading practices, principles, and ethics over 3,500 years. Sephardic Jews and Muslim Arabs, Berbers and Persians, all played a disproportionately large role in setting the ground rules for globalization. Phoenicians, Nabateans, Arabized Jews, Sogdians, and Minaeans prehistorically played similar roles in its earliest development. A unique aspect of the book is the linguistic tracking of recipes and terms for spices to reveal routes of cultural diffusion worldwide. The text is accompanied by recipes the author has gathered during his travels, as well as a “cabinet” of profiles describing the history and characteristics of many of the world's most popular and sought-after spices.

Israeli-Tunisian artist Rafram Chaddad traveled to Libya in March 2010 to photograph the synagogues and cemeteries of Libya's vanished 2,500-year-old Jewish community. Libyan secret police arrested him and accused him of spying for Israel. Chaddad withstood electrocution, ten days with no sleep, and savage beatings with a lead pipe before spending months alone in a tiny cell. He was released five months later through back-channel negotiations. Today, what he remembers most is every dish his wardens served him, from cinnamon-stewed camel to stuffed tripe served over turmeric-saturated rice. His prison term sheds light on the brutality and curious generosity of jail under the deposed Muammar Qaddafi. Chaddad's survival strategy revolved around food. Three times a day Chaddad would ask the prison guards for cooking advice as they delivered hot-foil meal trays to his cell. He marked time with tinfoil squares he ripped off the wrapping of grilled chicken. And he rejoiced in the small details of the food, such as dill on macaroni or dried mint in sorba , a tomato, meat, and lentil stew. In Chaddad's case, being a bon vivant was the best defense when all he had was a rotting gray mattress in a tiny room.