The gold within divinity full#

The gold within divinity full#

She showed me a room full of old copper alembics in which she coaxes complex and delicate essential oil from the resin. My favourite is oozy black frankincense from the cliffs of Al Fazayah, west of Salalah,вЂќ she added. вЂњItвЂ™s considered purer, with the most prized aroma. вЂњOmanis swear that white frankincense вЂtearsвЂ™ вЂ“ вЂ“ from Jabal Samhan or Hasik is best,вЂќ said Trygve Harris, owner of Enfleurage, one of OmanвЂ™s boutique frankincense distillers, and referring to the frankincense harvested along OmanвЂ™s south-eastern Dhofar coast. The type of frankincense used is viewed as both a status symbol and mark of respect. Omanis perfume their homes to repel mosquitoes, and passing around an incense burner after a meal is considered a mark of hospitality. ItвЂ™s also used in medicines and teas to promote healthy digestion and skin. вЂњPregnant women also nibble it,вЂќ a storekeeper told me, as expecting mothers believe that its properties will ensure the birth of an intelligent baby. In the city of Nizwa, I saw Omanis chewing the edible resin like gum to freshen their breath. Bin Hamad al-HosniвЂ™s gold-edged robe was steeped in frankincense fragrance.Дuring my time in Oman, I was amazed to learn how much frankincense remains an integral part of Omani culture. The shop teemed with a profusion of frankincense essential oils, perfumes and lotions. вЂњAnd to ward off djinn вЂ“ evil spirits,вЂќ added Maitha Al-Zahraa Nasser Al Hosni, sales clerk in the fortвЂ™s gift shop. вЂњWe burn frankincense to repel snakes,вЂќ said local guide Amur bin Hamad al-Hosni as he led me around northern OmanвЂ™s Ad Dakhiliyah region to the 17th-Century Nizwa Fort, whose strategic location at the crossroads of several trade routes led the territory to once be known as вЂThe Pearl of IslamвЂ™. Many temples of the ancient world would have been steeped with its unambiguous olfactory stamp.

Its swirling smoke was believed to ascend directly to heaven. Frankincense ointment was even found in King TutankhamunвЂ™s tomb when it was opened in 1922.Д«urned for purification, frankincense suggested divinity. The Egyptians imported massive amounts for use also as a perfume, insect and vermin repellent, and to mask the rotting odour when embalming bodies. The Ebers Papyrus, ancient EgyptвЂ™s most important document of medical knowledge, mentions frankincense as a treatment for asthma, bleeding, throat infections and vomiting, among other things. Greek military physician Pedanius Dioscorides described frankincense as a cure-all wonder drug, writing that the gummy resin could вЂfill up the hollowness of ulcersвЂ™ or вЂglue together bloody woundsвЂ™. The aspirin, penicillin and Viagra of its day, frankincense was considered an effective remedy for everything from haemorrhoids to menstrual pains and melanoma. Roman polymath Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) wrote that the trade had made the southern Arabians вЂњthe richest people on EarthвЂќ.

These were among the most precious gifts imaginable two millennia ago, when frankincense was worth its weight in gold.ДЇrom here, caravans with thousands of camels and slaves laden with frankincense set off on a daunting 2,000km-long overland journey across the Arabian Desert вЂ“ destined for the Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman Empires вЂ“ while ships laden with the resin travelled as far as China. The Mutrah Souq was also, surely, one of few places in the world where I could buy gold, myrrh and frankincense вЂ“ the three gifts presented to baby Jesus by the Three Magi in Christian tradition вЂ“ under one roof.

This was Muscat at its most magical, conjuring images from the Bible. Women in full-length black abaya cloaks perused colourful-as-Crayola silk scarves and shawls, while men in white ankle-length dishdasha robes and beautifully embroidered kuma caps inspected heaps of pebble-sized amber-, caramel- and cream-coloured frankincense nuggets. Tiny open-air shops teemed with spices, mounds of myrrh and piles of dates. I was lured by the hypnotic perfume curling up from frankincense smouldering in pots outside stores dripping with gold jewellery and silver censers. This alluringly musky scent permeates Omani cities and culture, and I was never far from the distinct, earthen aroma floating through the air. Wisps of frankincense smoke wafted through the bazaar as I plunged through the crowded, labyrinthine passageways of MuscatвЂ™s Mutrah Souq.