That looks similar to the way my Cypriot Greek buddy taught me to make it. His recipe uses almonds (or walnuts as a substitute) and his spice mixture is cinnamon, nutmeg and ground clove. He tosses in a cinnamon stick while boiling the syrup mixture and also adds a tablespoon of lemon juice. You can't really taste the lemon juice in the syrup, and he said that it does something to help with getting the right syrup consistency. It is a labor intensive dessert when you hand butter all those phyllo dough layers, but it is amazing when done correctly.