Béatrice Boisserie

Wadi Dawkah

In Wadi Dawkah, the “Omani Grasse”

In a corner of Arabia Felix – “Happy Arabia,” the Latin name used by geographers to refer to South Arabia – lies the cradle of frankincense: Wadi Dawkah, 3,500 acres at the heart of the Dhofar region, a rocky land in the south of the Sultanate of Oman, where thousands of frankincense trees grow.

History

Through smoke: Monotheism and Frankincense

Ever since the Bronze Age, olibanum has played a central part in the rituals observed by many different civilizations. But while we tend to see incense-burning practices primarily as a way to connect humans to the divine, this sacred role does not exclude other, more secular functions, as illustrated by the long history of incense use within monotheistic religions.

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