Around the 6th century CE, both the cane and sugar-making technology were carried westward from the delta of the Indus River to the head of the Persian Gulf and the delta of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where the Persians made sugar a prized ingredient in their cooking One modern survival of this esteem is the sprinkling of large sugar crystals over a dish called “jeweled rice.” Islamic Arabs conquered Persia in the 7th century and took the cane to northern Africa, Syria, and eventually Spain and Sicily Arab cooks combined sugar with almonds to make marzipan paste, cooked it down with sesame seeds and other ingredients to make chewy halvah, made great use of sugar in syrups aromatized with rose petals and orange blossoms, and were pioneers in confectionery and in sugar sculpture There are records of a 10th-century feast in Egypt that was adorned with sugar models of trees, animals, and castles! Pulled Sugar and Almond Confection in 13th-century Baghdad Medieval Arab cooks were among the first to explore sugar’s remarkable sculptural qualities, as these early examples of pulled sugar and marzipan show Dry Halwa Take sugar, dissolve in water, and boil until set: then remove from the dish, and pour onto a soft surface to cool Take an iron stake with a smooth head and plant it in the mass, then pull up the sugar, stretching it with the hands and drawing it up the stake all the time, until it becomes white: then throw once more onto the surface Knead in pistachios, and cut into strips and triangles If desired, it may be colored, either with saffron or with vermilion Faludhaj ... Take sugar, dissolve in water, and boil until set: then remove from the dish, and pour onto a soft surface to cool Take an iron stake with a smooth head and plant it in the mass, then pull up the sugar, stretching it with the hands and drawing it... stretching it with the hands and drawing it up the stake all the time, until it becomes white: then throw once more onto the surface Knead in pistachios, and cut into strips and triangles If desired, it may be...Pulled Sugar and Almond Confection in 13th-century Baghdad Medieval Arab cooks were among the first to explore sugar’s remarkable sculptural qualities, as these early examples of pulled sugar and marzipan show