Incense and sensibility
Tracing the footsteps of the biblical magi, Aine Fox sets off on the trail of frankincense in the Omani capital Muscat, where the famed Christmas resin is revered as the ‘sweat of the gods’.
THE intoxicating smell of incense is one I’ve always associated with Christmas Eve. Typically, I’d be inhaling the scent while wrapped in a thick coat and huddled into a church pew. But today I’m wearing the lightest linen outfit I could find, as I bathe in the desert heat of the Shangri-La Al Husn’s private frankincense garden.
From spa to bar, the country’s famed resin – proclaimed to be the world’s finest – runs right through this stunning cliff-edge resort in Muscat, a seven-hour flight from London. Oman’s capital is probably lesser known among British holidaymakers than its neighbour Dubai, which is a four-and-a-half hour drive across the Oman-United Arab Emirates border.
Oman, with a population of 4.5 million, is one of the lesser populated countries in the Middle East. Shangri-La Al Husn – with its dramatic coastal setting and private beach looking out to the Gulf of Oman – offers a wide variety of activities and experiences for guests, so my trip is a mix of relaxation and exploration.
At the heart of the traditional Omani welcome to any household – and to this luxury hotel – is the waft of frankincense, accompanied by tasty sweet dates and Arabic coffee. It’s a ritual we enjoy in the frankincense garden, welcomed by the resort’s very own expert.
Khalid Al Amri, the first accredited frankincense sommelier in the country, tells us: “If you come to visit my home, we burn the frankincense to welcome you and when you are about to leave, we burn it again.” He refers to the almost two dozen frankincense trees around us as “babies”. Planted back in 2019, they will need another four to six years from now to mature and produce the aromatic resin which has been known over the years as the “sweat of the gods”.
Khalid explains how a knife – known as a manqaf – is used to cut the tree bark, releasing the resin which eventually hardens into frankincense. While it is clearly commonplace in Oman, frankincense is highly revered. I had no idea this gift – which most people will know from its biblical name check, having been presented along with gold and myrrh to the baby Jesus by the Three Wise Men – had so many uses beyond its enchanting scent.
“If you go to the market, you can buy frankincense to burn, to put in water, to use it for the perfume for your clothes,” Khalid adds. “Traditionally if a pregnant woman is about to give birth, we burn frankincense to protect her and the baby. And after she gives birth, we burn it for 30 days, a kind of blessing for a new soul coming to life.”
We hear of its believed healing and restorative properties, with the high-grade Al Hojari frankincense boiled in water and sipped if someone is feeling unwell.
The resort’s Luban spa offers treatments and massages using frankincense oil. It is said by some to have anti-inflammatory as well as immunity-boosting benefits. My experience is certainly relaxing, and I hope to have absorbed some of these supposed healing benefits.
The cherished resin is even used in cocktails, and while the jury is out on whether it makes my drink any healthier, it definitely enhances the taste and look. Frankincense-infused gin is a key ingredient in the signature Shangri La Spritz cocktail.
Tourists and visitors can have alcohol in licensed venues in Oman, such as the resort, and the legal drinking age is 21. Private cocktailmaking sessions are available for guests on request, costing OMR 15 per person (£30) including up to three drinks.
Venturing outside the resort – and continuing my frankincense journey – I enjoy lunch at the Bait al Luban restaurant. The unassuming exterior belies a mouth-watering experience inside at an eatery, which has a name meaning House of Frankincense.
Keen to embrace some more Omani culture beyond the resort, we venture to the nearby Mutrah Souq – the perfect place to walk off lunch. The market, a 20-minute drive from the hotel, is filled with various treats from the
‘Traditionally if a pregnant woman is about to give birth, we burn frankincense to protect her and the baby.’
usual tourist offerings to gold jewellery, and of course frankincense in various forms as well as brightly-coloured incense burners.
The Muslim call to prayer soon sounds and some people begin heading for the mosque. Oman is a mainly Islamic country, and out of respect for its traditions, it’s advised to wear modest clothing while outside the resort, with shoulders covered and long skirts or trousers.
For a visit to the Sultan Qaboos Mosque – the country’s largest – women must also don a headscarf. Full of chandeliers and ornate designs on the ceilings and walls, this 20,000-capacity building is truly a sight to behold. The sprawling sandstone site, which opened at the turn of the century, is impressive from every angle, with its series of outdoor archways forming photogenic shadows in the sunlight. Its shade provides cool relief from the stifling heat and a calm descends as we enter and admire the 21-tonne Persian carpet which covers 4,200 square metres of the prayer hall floor. Visitors can take a look around between 8.30 and 11am six days a week, excluding Fridays.
If you time it just right – generally between February and September – you can witness a turtle-hatching back at the resort. We stand behind a roped-off area on the beach while the on-site turtle ranger gently lifts the tiny babies out of their nests, dug deep in the sand, so they can crawl instinctively towards the water. We can only hope they make it out to sea; some have to try multiple times as the tide washes them back on to the sand. Perhaps years from now another lucky visitor will snorkel beside them in a quiet cove nearby.
Oman Air flies daily from London Heathrow to Muscat with return fares starting from £572 for economy and £3,069 for business class. Visit www.omanair.com.