Perfume

People here are fastidiously clean and perfume is popular amongst both men and women. There are whole shops in the malls devoted to perfumes and they are popular too, with lots of black abaya-clad women looking for the right perfume. I didn't know there were so many perfumes in the world.

Ian and I observed a traditional way of perfuming yourself at one of the big hotels recently. A staff member was walking around in the foyer with a container of smoking incense. A woman approached him and he wafted the perfumed smoke all around her veil, which she lifted to allow the smoke to infuse her clothing as well, obviously relishing the scent and the smoke. Apparently the most highly prized incense is something called oud or agarwood. It is burnt as a sign of hospitality. You can buy frankincense here from Oman and other countries and also something called bokhur which is a fibrous ball of oud, white musk, sandalwood oil, ambergris, mystica and rose oil. You can get ornate burners in the souqs for about QR100, or just under NZ$40.

Even our local dairy in the compound (called "The International Supermarket"!) has several shelves in its crowded interior devoted to perfumes, both men's and women's. I spied one yesterday for men gloriously called "Rectoversus". According to the label it smells like tea and tobacco. Hmmm.