Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh and Wise Men feature in our earlier bible study memories……. this week I found Frankincense, sadly no Gold or any really Wise Men, but I suspect some Myrrh is around the region.  

Salalah, the main town of the Dhofar region in Oman, the birthplace of the ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, is surrounded by Frankincense trees and there is a museum in Salalah named as such…

The Museum is well worth a visit and gives an excellent overview on the importance of the Frankincense industry from historical times and the importance of the trading from this region. There is also an excellent collection of artifacts, but sadly no photography is allowed inside the museum.

The Maritime section is stunning, hand-built models of all the ships of Oman, ranging from reed boats to the models of gunships. The model workmanship is incredible and if you even happen to be passing by Salalah, just pop in to admire the thought and effort that has gone into this display.

The surrounding park is dedicated to Frankincense and is a lovely place to take a stroll around.

Frankincense, also called olibanum, is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia in the family Burseraceae . The English word is derived from Old French “franc encens” (i.e: high quality incense).

There are four main species of Boswellia that produce true frankincense. Resin from each of the four is available in various grades. The grades depend on the time of harvesting; the resin is hand-sorted for quality.

Inside the museum there are the most stunning windows lining the walls…. but I couldn’t take a photograph, large signs plainly told me it was forbidden. I went back outside to see the effect but of course, the effect is the outside light. I was greeted by security grilles and odd shapes. No window shot outside-in!

Back inside I asked the guards, promising only to shoot the windows; smiling permission was granted for my window shots only…. I think you will understand why I wanted to photograph this window.

A clever design using a stylised Islamic tracery against the outside light makes for a unique window…

Frankincense information courtesy of Wiki….

Linking with Monday Window, check out the link for windows this week…..