THE FRANKINCENSE PROJECT
On December 2, 2000, UNESCO and the Sultanate of Oman signed a convention placing the Land of Frankincense – comprising four iconic sites in the Dhofar region – on the World Heritage List. For thousands of years, the precious resin has played a central role in the development of civilizations, sea routes, international trade and, of course, the history of perfumery.
One of the four listed sites is Wadi Dawkah, a 1,500-hectare valley that is home to almost 5,000 frankincense trees (Boswellia sacra). The trees have always been protected, but barely ever tapped.
An ambitious project is now up and running, driven by the Omani government and Renaud Salmon, Chief Creative Officer at the perfume house Amouage, with support from perfumery ingredient sourcer Dominique Roques. The new project centers on three key goals: to safeguard and develop frankincense tree cultivation in this unspoiled area; to build a high-quality industry for Omani frankincense essential oil; and to share this ancient cultivation tradition as widely as possible via a visitor center where people can learn about the natural environment, local heritage, extraction process and fragrance creation. The Nez editorial team is pleased to provide you with the opportunity to follow each stage of this extraordinary project in real time. Over the next three years, plunge into the heart of the Land of Frankincense and Omani olfactory culture with fascinating content that gives you the chance to meet the remarkable people involved in this high-profile project.*
Mathieu Chévara, Publishing and Creative Director
*Podcasts, articles, videos and a series of reports produced by Nez in collaboration with Amouage.
January 2023, New York. Gaetano Pesce wakes from a singular dream: a frankincense tree, one he has never seen in his life. The beginning of an adventure between design, resin and perfume.
Frankincense is one of the world’s oldest fragrances, straddling the mystical and the sacred. It was used to make kyphi, the olfactory preparation used in ancient Egypt to enter the divine realm, and was widely burned in ancient temples and places of prayer.
While frankincense has always been part of the changing face of fragrances, it has taken on a new role in the modern perfumery landscape. Its journey reflects both a shift in aesthetics and a change in perspective. An age-old material that has become one of the most relevant voices in contemporary niche perfumery.
With its stony deserts, misty mountains and forests watered by the monsoon, Dhofar shows an unexpected face of Oman. This land of contrasts is home to extraordinarily biodiversity.
The project, run in close cooperation with the Omani government, which began after a historic agreement was signed between Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and Amouage in September 2022, aims to protect one of the Sultanate’s most iconic treasures.
Over a few square kilometers in the south of the Sultanate of Oman, thousands of frankincense trees grow on the rocky ground of Wadi Dawkah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tracing the history of the frankincense tree through images allows us to follow how humans have perceived, utilized, and imagined it over millennia. From ancient reliefs to botanical plates, these representations tell a story that is as much cultural as it is natural.
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.
At the heart of Wadi Dawkah, the UNESCO-listed site and birthplace of Omani frankincense, Amouage has just laid the cornerstone of an ambitious project for a cultural center dedicated to the desert’s white gold.
Behind the mysterious name “Land of Frankincense” lies a collection of four exceptional sites located in the Dhofar region, in the south of Oman: the remains of the caravan oasis of Shisr, the associated ports of Khor Rori and Al Baleed, and the Wadi Dawkah.
In 2022, researchers at the center of natural and medical sciences at the University of Nizwa, 150 km from Muscat, managed to decipher the Boswellia sacra genome using DNA from fresh frankincense leaves. An achievement that owes much to the perseverance of the Omani scientific teams.
As well as lending itself to burning, drinking and eating, frankincense can be chewed. In Oman the amber tears shed by the aromatic resin take on every form, from intangible to concrete.
The hospitality of Oman is felt upon arrival at Muscat airport with a subtle, diffused scent of frankincense as Omani people know that if they want to create a tranquil atmosphere, they can turn to olibanum.
What is the history of incense and its trade? That’s the question answered in this article, which traces the history of the “Incense Route” over several centuries, from its earliest beginnings to the inscription of the Dhofar region in the Sultanate of Oman as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
Frankincense, bakhoor, attars: perfume is deeply rooted in Omani culture, starting with the Latin roots of the word, per fumum, meaning through smoke. The love of fragrances can be found throughout the Middle East, inextricably linked to how people see themselves and others, to their personal values, to the social rituals that unfold in daily life or at special occasions.
The partnership between Amouage and Oman, which aims to relaunch the local incense industry, takes place in the historical and geopolitical context of the sultanate. The brand’s intention is to contribute to the social and economic development of the country, while promoting Omani culture.
Sayyid Khalid, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amouage introduces Wadi Dawkah, the land of Frankincense, an Oman-based UNESCO protected site since 2000.
In 2022, Amouage signed a partnership with Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism to relaunch the frankincense industry in the sultanate. This initiative follows on from the inscription of the Land of Frankincense on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. Renaud Salmon, Chief Creative Officer of the Omani fragrance house, takes up the story.
After 30 years of experience in sourcing natural products, Dominique Roques has been given a three-year mission by Amouage. He is tasked with plotting the renaissance of the frankincense industry in the Wadi Dawkah natural park in the Sultanate of Oman, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The affinity between Renaud Salmon, Chief Creative Director at Amouage, and Jérôme Epinette, perfumer at Robertet, culminates in 2026 with the launch of Love Hibiscus. They invite us into the heart of their creative process and tell us how they reimagined the use of frankincense in this composition.
Dominique Roques discusses with Yohan Cervi, critic and lecturer on the history of modern perfumery to trace the journey of frankincense through the world of fragrance creation.
Art historian Clara Muller discusses the role of frankincense and the trees that produce it in the history of art.
Ayesha Mualla, a social anthropologist and enthusiastic teacher, has conducted research on frankincense usages in the omani culture in the Dhofar region.
Dominique Roques discusses with archaeologist Sterren Le Maguer-Gillon about how these places all bear witness to an era when the Omani region was a strategic trading crossroads on the Incense Trade Route.
Renaud Salmon, Chief Creative Officer at Amouage and Dominique Roques, perfumery ingredients sourcer, discuss the precious tree’s renaissance in Oman.
