Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Europeans Arrive (1498-1650)
There is something satisfying about standing under the Tomb of Bibi Miriam in Qalhat,
Oman, knowing that two of the world's great medieval travellers, Marco Polo and Ibn Bat-
tuta, stood there too. Their travels prefigured a revival in Western trading interests in Ara-
bia and it wasn't long before the pilgrim caravans of Mecca were once again transporting
spices and drugs from the Orient to Europe via the ports of Istanbul and Venice.
Meanwhile, a great Omani seafarer, Ahmed bin Majid, helped Vasco da Gama navigate
the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 and, in good faith, told him of his own wondrous country
on the Straits of Hormuz. The Portuguese quickly understood the strategic significance of
their 'discovery' and by 1507 Portugal had annexed the Yemeni island of Suqutra (Soco-
tra), occupied Oman and colonised Bahrain. Travel along the coast of the Gulf today and
Portuguese forts appear with regularity: cut inland, and there's no trace of them. The Por-
tuguese were only interested in protecting their trade routes and made no impact on the in-
terior of these countries at all - a suitable metaphor for the negligible cultural exchange
that took place. When they were eventually ousted by the mid-17th century, they left not
much more than a legacy of military architecture - and the Maria Theresa dollar.
THE FRANKINCENSE TREE
Drive along the road from Salalah to the Yemeni border, and you may be forgiven for missing one of the most im-
portant aspects of the Arabian Peninsula's history. Sprouting from the limestone rock as if mindless of the lack of
nutrition, leafless and (for much of the year) pretty much lifeless,
Boswellia sacra
must be one of the least spectac-
ular 'monuments' on a traveller's itinerary. Indeed, with its peeling bark and stumped branches, the frankincense
tree looks more like something out of
The Day of the Triffids
than a tree that established the early fortunes of the
region.
What makes the tree so special, of course, is its aromatic sap, known as 'lubban' in Arabic or 'frankincense' in
English. The sap oozes in white- or amber-coloured beads from incisions made in the bark and is left to harden in
the sun. Frankincense has a natural oil content, allowing it to burn well, and the vapour is released by dropping a
bead of the sap onto hot embers.
To this day, the pungent aroma is used locally with great enthusiasm, wafted at the entrance of a house to ward
away evil spirits or to perfume garments. It has other traditional uses too. The sap has medicinal qualities and was
used in just about every prescription dispensed by the Greeks and the Romans. It is still used in parts of the Penin-
sula to treat a wide range of illnesses, including coughs and psychotic disorders, believed to be the result of witch-
craft. Internationally, frankincense remains a part of many (particularly Christian) religious rites and is included as
an ingredient in exotic perfumes.
Although the frankincense tree grows in Wadi Hadramawt in Yemen as well as in northern Somalia, the speci-
mens of Dhofar in southern Oman have been famed since ancient times for producing the finest-quality sap. The
tree favours the unique weather system of this corner of southern Arabia, just beyond the moisture-laden winds of
the
khareef
(summer season) but near enough to enjoy their cooling influence. As such it is notoriously difficult to
root elsewhere.
