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Souq Irani : For all those spices...

Souq Irani which has tens of shops selling a wide range 
of spices from across the sea stands test of time

Half a century back, small ships crowded the Corniche daily to unload tonnes of spices, nuts and herbs at the long stretches of old souqs, where different types of spices changed hands among traders of Iran, India and Sharjah.

Today, the small ships are gone from Buhairah Corniche, but the spice shops have continued to flourish in Souq Irani as they call that strip of road along the Corniche, between Souq Kadeem and Souq Al Majara, where thousands go to buy spices, particularly during Ramadan and Eid even now.

Iranian Abbas Samili, who took over the 40-year-old spice shop of his father Abdullah Abbas Samimi, now 80, said that their shop started with only two other spice shops in a vast empty expanse of the Corniche. “There were no buildings within sight. Next to us in a far distance in Souq Al Majara was that old vegetable and fish market. Our customers, mostly Emirati families, filled every inch of our shop to buy these Iranian spices. We have 30 main spices and nuts, rosehip water and herbs needed to cook meals and prepare Arabic tea or traditional Arabic coffee,” he said.

Gulam Hosen, 50-year-old Indian working in one of the Iranian spice shops from a very young age, said he remembers traders lining up the shores like ants, unloading their spices and other goods from Iran and India 30 years ago. “They walked down from their dhows and unloaded tonnes of spices, herbs, nuts, rose water and other flower extracts traditionally used to flavour food, Arabic coffee and tea. I still remember spice shop owners coming in a hurry to the shores to meet the traders from Iran and India, to choose what they wanted and bargain,” he said.

Omani Khalfan Aziz, 62, says that he has been coming to this old spice souq twice a month for a long time to buy main spices, particularly “saffron”, which costs more in Oman than here in Sharjah. “It is much cheaper to buy these spices, nuts, rose water and other flower extracts from here. This time, I am buying more than what I had been taking home in the past months since Ramadan is coming. I am now buying 50 per cent of my spice and dry fruit requirements at home. We can buy the same spices in Oman but it is much better to buy here, for we get the best Iranian spices.”

Hilal Seif, 58-year-old Omani, is also getting his spice supplies, especially saffron and cardamom or hail in Arabic from here. He and family are drive their car from Oman to Sharjah and, after going around the malls and edutainment places, they head home.

Mohammed Haji, who took over the spice shop of his father Mahmud Zarey, says that the Omanis, including Khalfan Aziz and Hilal Seif, are his oldest customers. “My shop has 30 main spices and 65 types of nuts, rice, “arq” and other flower juice extracts from Iran and India and many kinds of dried fruits from Pakistan. Many look for saffron, black seed of kalvangi in Arabic which people mix with olive oil to treat all kinds of diseases and flavour food when cooking.”

Now that Ramadan is coming, between 1,500 and 2,000 customers come daily to buy from 55-odd spice shops in Souq Irani.

Ahmed Ali, who has been running his shop for 33 years, says that over 1,000 customers come to his shop before the start of Ramadan on average, the majority being Emiratis and Arabic families looking for the best Iranian spices. “All Iranian spice shops in this souq have a large variety of spices and dried fruits for Ramadan.”

Mohammed Sulayman, 44, who has spent more than 20 years of his life in Souq Irani, says that his shop has a turnover of Dh1,500 to Dh2,000 daily selling spices, nuts and dried fruits in the weeks before Ramadan.

lily@khaleejtimes.com