Why Spice Traders Relied On Camel Bladders
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The spice trade dominated pre-Christian Europe, with tales of secret and fantastic places exporting flavors and smells that seemed almost magical to the West. In order to transport cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and pepper out of Asia, however, traders had to pass through the unforgiving deserts of Persia and Arabia.
Beginning in the first millennia B.C., traders in India set out to sell their incense and oils on the backs of camels. Camels were a natural choice of transportation for crossing the desert. Their high heat tolerance, water-conserving bodies, and wide feet carried merchants and their wares with the dependability that no horses could offer.