Panorama of the Week: Spice Shop in Downtown Amman, Jordan
Filed Under: Spice shops — home of the fragrant, the tactile, the vivid, the rich — are some of our favorite places to visit on our travels. And no less so this one in downtown Amman, Jordan.
From dates to dried artichokes, from cardamom to coffee beans. Dried, crushed, powdered and shaved. You name it, this place seemed to have it.
If only we could communicate the beauty of the aroma of the air. That would be a supreme technical achievement. But for now, you’ll just have to open up this panorama and trust us.
Panorama: Spice Shop in Downtown Amman, Jordan
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More Articles and Photos from Jordan
Disclosure: Our trip to Jordan is sponsored by the Jordan Tourism Board, but the opinions expressed here are entirely our own.
February 28th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Wow! I truly can actually smell the spices. Wonderful photo!
February 28th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
You are so near, you should stop off in Cyprus before you head away….
Your trips are amazing and this blog is SOOO interesting.
Well done you two…
Best Wishes
Jackie
February 28th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Love these!
March 1st, 2011 at 1:12 am
When you visit the spice shops, do your buy a little something to enjoy later? Is there a particular item that you habitually seek out, or do you just like to poke around and see (as well as smell) what is offered?
March 1st, 2011 at 1:49 am
I love spice shops! They just smell so good!
March 1st, 2011 at 7:21 am
MMMMMMM! I can just about smell it from here! In fact, the image jogs ALL my senses into gear!
March 1st, 2011 at 10:54 am
I can only imagine how fragrant the air was! Did you buy anything??
March 1st, 2011 at 2:28 pm
@Linda: Glad you were able to get a sense of the aroma through this panorama!
@Jackie: Thanks for your kind words about our blog and for your invitation to visit Cyprus. We already have plans to visit Bangladesh after this, so I’m afraid we’ll have to return to the region to visit Cyprus.
@Cam: Thanks!
@Kathy: Good question. When we used to have an apartment with a kitchen, we would always pick up spices, sauces, or other local specialties to bring home with us. We used to cook quite a lot. Actually, one of the hardest things we had to give away when we left our apartment in Prague was our spice collection – we had close to 100 spices from our travels.
These days, we don’t have a kitchen and are always on the road so we mostly look around and ask questions.
@Connie: Us too! Spice shops are some of our favorite places to visit when we travel.
@Margaret: It’s perhaps ironic that I’m reading your comment in a resort called “Six Senses”
It was such a nice shop – also spent time in the back tasting the different varieties of coffee and dried fruits.
@Andi: No, we didn’t buy anything as we were at the beginning of our travels in Jordan and didn’t want to carry it all around the country. But, perhaps we’ll stop by on our way out of Jordan in ten days…and buy gifts for friends in our next stop (Bangladesh).
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:32 am
I really love this shop! It looks absolutely amazing. I’ve never been in one of these places and I would love to see one of these live. I bet it smells to die for. All those spices…
March 3rd, 2011 at 10:58 pm
The panorama viewer is pretty neat! Looks like I’m going to love your site even more. Even without scent, we can imagine aroma of the different spices in the shop. Amazing photo
March 4th, 2011 at 1:14 am
Nice panorama. I had no idea that so many spices existed!
March 4th, 2011 at 3:32 am
Dried artichoke? That sounds unusual and amazing!!!
March 6th, 2011 at 9:30 am
@Hillary: Spice shops like this are unique in many countries in the West, but fortunately they are more common in other parts of the world (like Jordan). We love the smells, colors, and feel of places like this.
@Hughes: Glad you enjoyed this panoramic experience!
@Kenan: And our guide told us that this shop just displayed the “regular” spices – there’s a whole section in the back of specialized spices.
@Amy: As an artichoke lover, I was pleasantly surprised to see dried artichokes here. Never had seen them before. We were told that the dried artichokes are boiled with water to make a sort of tea that is good for your stomach (I think).
March 7th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
These views are just great! What so many different things to choose from you better know what you need before you go or you could be there for hours.
March 12th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
I can just imagine the smells!
March 14th, 2011 at 6:50 am
@Kirk: And we were told that what you see is just a fraction of everything they sell at the spice shop. The more exotic and specific spices are hidden away in the back. Can’t even imagine.
@Rebecca: The smells of this spice shop were pretty great!