Qatar’s cuisine traces back to the history of the Indian Ocean spice trade, where aromatic flavours weave stories of ancient connections and cultural heritage.
The story of spices in Qatari cuisine is as rich and layered as its symphony of flavours. From fragrant saffron and cardamon in balaleet, to a piping hot dallah – a traditional long-spouted pot – brimming of chai karak or gahwa, these spices are a staple of Qatari culture.
But what histories lie behind herbs like sage and mint, and the aromatic seeds and spices that once journeyed from distant lands to Doha’s coasts?
“This is not a new trade at all,” Astrid Kensinger, Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University – Qatar (VCUarts) and Chair of Graphic Design at the institute’s (IN)>Tangible Lab research cluster, told Doha News. “We’re talking about a history that’s thousands of years old.”
The Island of Hormuz, often referred to as the region’s “entrepôt port,” played a critical role in facilitating ancient trade routes.
Roughly 6,000 years ago, the Tigris–Euphrates river system, which empties into the Arabian Gulf, was first used to transport copper from the Ergani mines in Anatolia to the Sumerian settlements in southern Iraq.
By 3,000 BC, the Mesopotamians had established maritime routes extending from the Arabian Gulf to the Indus Valley–the latter region spanning modern-day Pakistan and northwest India.
Over time, spices like pepper, cardamon, and ginger began arriving from India. Spices brought by Arab traders from India were also bartered for seeds and herbs. They eventually made their way into Central and Northern Europe through trading hubs like Alexandria, Tyre, Venice, and Genoa.
‘Be proud of your stories’
Last November, Downtown Msheireb’s Liwan Design Studios and Labs held a multifaceted open event that transformed the historical grounds into a hub for cultural and creative expression.
Inviting visitors to engage with Qatar’s history of spices, the lineup included the ‘Kitchen Comics’ exhibition. It showcased the final works of 17 students who took an elective course led by Astrid Kensinger, and Leland Hill, Principal Investigator of the Comics Lab at VCUarts.
“We researched Qatar’s oral and living histories with spices and used art and design with our students to visualise or translate these stories into heritage features,” Kensinger told Doha News.
Natasha Fernandes, the exhibition’s curator and exhibition designer, also noted that the showcase gives the students a platform to share the olfactory memories from their parents and families and share with the wider community.
“Spices are small, everyday items locked away in our kitchens. However, our students dug deep and uncovered not only the local memories behind their chosen spices, but also the surrounding historical context,” Fernandes said.
For Shaikha Al Hajri, one of the participating students, her project on cloves aimed to bridge her Bedouin heritage with modernity.
“I wanted to show the evolution of the Qatari kitchen through the spice itself,” she explained, adding that her project is a nod to her background by representing her grandfather’s khaima (tent) and her design of a desert lizard character.
“My granddad was thrilled and supported me throughout this project, especially seeing how I was holding on to our cultural roots,” she added.
Al Hajri’s coursemate, Noora Al Ibrahim, whose project focused on sage, told Doha News that an air of mystery surrounds how the spice first entered Qatar.
“There are so many different stories about this,” she added. “For my mother, she was first introduced to sage as a natural remedy for women. She passed this tradition on to me and God willing, I will carry on this tradition to the next generation someday.”
Through ‘Kitchen Comics,’ Qatar’s youth are connected to a rich past and carrying it forward to the future.
“The main message is to be proud of the stories you have and share them with others,” Al Ibrahim concluded.
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