Ayn Dawkah: the cornerstone of Omani frankincense

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The Wadi Dawkah site offers a striking spectacle of the senses to the arriving guests. Dusk is falling on the arid plateau in the Dhofar region of southern Oman, home to over 5,000 frankincense trees. Guests are bathed in soft evening light as one by one they gradually take in their surroundings. Omani singers and dancers are ready: their voices, dance steps and drumming form a corridor of almost palpable sound and movement, guiding visitors toward the heart of the event. Women hold incense burners gracefully aloft, releasing fragrant smoky swirls that float above the guests, instantly immersing the gathering in a timeless atmosphere. The scene is set, vibrating with a gentle, almost magnetic, energy.

The precise location has been chosen with great care. This is where the Omani cultural center dedicated to frankincense will be built. A project with great ambitions, as confirmed a few seconds later by Marco Parsiegla, Amouage CEO, who solemnly declares that “our vision is to become the center of gravity for frankincense throughout the world, melding science, creativity and culture.” He addresses the audience of around a hundred prestigious guests, including His Highness Sayyid Marwan bin Turki Al Said, governor of the Dhofar region, and Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi, chairman of the Amouage board of directors, as he prepares to lay the cornerstone of a building that will promote and give structure to the Omani frankincense industry.

The drive to formalize creation of the frankincense industry began in 2022, when Amouage signed a landmark agreement with the Omani Ministry of Heritage and Tourism. The focus will be on tree cultivation as well as harvesting certified-origin resins to ensure traceability and sustainability. A distillery will also be set up here in the heart of Wadi Dawkah, in partnership with DSM-Firmenich, for transforming frankincense tears into essential oil that can then be used by perfumers the world over.

Renderings in 3D show how the future center will perch above the ancient site. The building where visitors will learn about every aspect of frankincense will be sand-colored and circular, suggesting the shape of an eye (Ayn in Arabic). It is this shape that has lent the center its name, Ayn Dawkah, the eye of Dawkah. The resolutely modern structure, designed by Milan-based Giò Forma Studio, is scheduled for delivery in spring 2027. 

Bringing the project to fruition has been a team effort. Renaud Salmon, Amouage creative director, is visibly very moved as he speaks. “I feel we are taking a major step forward for Amouage, and for perfumery in general. My mind is full of memories of the last few years: the energy we have poured into the project, the bonds we have forged, the people we have brought together. Being here this evening, for perfumery, united by the love of what we do, is a chance for us to witness a dream becoming reality.” A few minutes earlier, alone like a wolf, he had climbed a rock to gain an overhead view of the ceremony and admire the stage created for the guests in the form of the Wadi Dawkah logo, a stylized frankincense tree.

The celebration also provides Amouage with the opportunity to offer one of its iconic Amouage Voyages, inspiring trips specially designed to introduce perfumers to Omani culture as well as the brand’s universe and signature ingredients while supporting them in their creative process. Imagine an open air brief created by Renaud Salmon. This year’s event is attended by some twenty perfumers from several composition houses, including DSM-Firmenich, Symrise, IFF, Givaudan, and CPL Aromas, from master to junior perfumers as well as a handful of trainees, reflecting Amouage’s well-known commitment to encouraging a diversity of talents.

The brand organized a visit to the Wadi Dawkah plateau earlier the same day to give the perfumers a deep dive into frankincense. Most of them discovered the tree for the first time and were introduced to the delicate art of cutting, or tapping, the bark using small sharp manghafs, the first stage in extracting the resin.

Julien Rasquinet from CPL Aromas is one of several perfumers who was invited to sponsor a tree two years ago. He has named his tree Sanctuary. “I’ve just met it for the first time. I’ve been told it’s been sick. A termite attack, equivalent to gangrene in humans, meant several branches had to be pruned. But it had to be done, and the tree was well cared for. I can see that close attention is paid to the health of each tree. There is truly something magical in being given the chance to have a connection with one of them!” Domitille Michalon from IFF sponsors a tree by the name of Charm. “It has the number 73, and it’s also the first time I’ve got close to it. Learning how much time it takes to cut the bark then for the resin to dry and finally to harvest the tears has reconnected me to the essence of the fragrance. When you’re in your office, it’s easy to forget about nature’s bounty and the energy people have to put into obtaining a few grams of a raw material.” The perfumer acknowledges that the trip has inspired her. “Why not use frankincense at the heart of a cologne?” 

Éléonore Oyane-Nang, a trainee perfumer mentored by Dominique Ropion (IFF), was particularly struck by the songs sung by the tree-cutters, mantra-like chants that impart energy and endurance. “It’s as if time has stood still,” she murmurs. “I get a sense of spirituality here that really shakes me up. I’m discovering frankincense all over again. The resin is very sticky and already a fragrance in itself, very fresh and delicate. I’ve just had an idea for composing a bissap–frankincense accord.”

It’s past midday and the sun is at its zenith. Pierre Négrin from DSM-Firmenich is observing Renaud Salmon closely. Stationed in the shade of a Boswellia sacra tree, Amouage’s creative director is handing out strips freshly saturated with essential oil from frankincense harvested at Wadi Dawkah. The perfumer is very familiar with this quality of frankincense: he was involved in producing it. “DSM-Firmenich was quickly brought on board the project for setting up the industry. A multidisciplinary team was put together three years ago, headed by Matthew Wright, who is in charge of the Wadi Dawkah site, and sourcer Dominique Roques. They carried out pilot tests on small quantities of resin previously sent to Grasse for extraction. I received two shipments over a two-year period, each containing two or three types of extractions so we could compare them to other frankincense on the market. Working with perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin we decided on a distillation that highlighted Boswellia sacra’s abundance of alpha-pinene, hence terpenes, which gives it notes of lemon and pepper. It has a fresh profile with a background note that’s a little buttery, warm without being resinous, with a hint of sensuality,” explains the perfumer, who has created a dozen fragrances for Amouage based on frankincense, an ingredient he views with “a great deal of affection.”

Pierre Négrin is also keen to see the future distillery take shape. He is convinced it will make it possible to obtain a farm-to-bottle essential oil at Wadi Dawkah. A project that will undoubtedly herald others for Amouage, which could soon transpose the process for structuring the frankincense industry to other natural ingredients that align with the brand’s DNA.

Visuals © Amouage