Essential Oil Education

Both frankincense and myrrh were highly prized in the ancient world as fragrances and as healing oils and incense. The resins from these trees were obtained by making slits in the bark until the trees oozed out their life blood and hardened in the desert air. These trees grew only in southern Arabia, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Arab merchants would use as many as 3,000 camels in a single caravan to transport the resins across the desert. This ancient route however had been lost in time and no one knew exactly where it was, that is until NASA discovered it. In the ancient world, the spice merchants utilized the incense route to transport not only the frankincense and myrrh but also spices, gold, ivory, pearls, precious stones, and textiles. The desert was actually a very busy place. The incense route ran along the western edge of Arabia’s central desert about 100 miles inland from the Red Sea coast and was finally confirmed through satelite imagery.

The Route stretched from the Persian Gulf, through Oman and Aden, south to Africa and north to Mecca and beyond, eventually linking with Asia making worldwide trade possible. It was only in 1992 that NASA discovered the ancient city of Ubar which was the center of commerce for well over 3,000 years. Merchants came to Ubar from Sri Lanka, China, and India bringing their spices and silks to trade for resins and precious oils. The caravans would then take these goods and travel across the Empty Quarter to the city of Petra where other merchants from Athens, Alexandria, and Damascus would trade for the silks, linens, spices, and resins and load their camel caravans and travel to their various countries. The location of the valuable frankincense trees were one of the best kept secrets of ancient times.

PS: To learn more about these ancient essential oils and how they can benefit us today,  I invite you to attend an aromatherapy program that teaches the healing properties of therapeutic grade essential oils like frankincense and myrrh. You can find information at http://www.ISHAhealing.com