Festive events like weddings, the birth of a newborn, and so on, are incomplete without the burning of frankincense. Moreover, in Omani homes across the Sultanate, frankincense is indispensable to the ritual of demonstrating one's hospitality to visiting guests. 

Incense burners are passed around so visitors can air themselves in the heady scent of the burning frankincense. Truly, frankincense remains the centrepiece of Oman's vibrant heritage, enriched as it is by exotic versions of the fragrance, notably bokhur, attar and other traditional perfumes. Such is the pivotal place these prized fragrances have in the daily lives of Omanis that it has spawned a flourishing cottage industry in the Dhofar Governorate. 

Despite all the history and romance surrounding the resin, its source — the Boswellia tree — is less spectacular to behold. Bereft of leaves in summer, each tree features a profusion of gnarled branches. 

Hundreds of such trees grow along the fringes of the arid Nejd desert or the dry lower reaches of the jebels in the Dhofar region. Incisions made on the trunk of these trees yield a pearly white liquid that hardens into semi-opaque lumps. 

Omanis who have been at the forefront of Dhofar's frankincense trade for generations run the stalls. Many among them are expert blenders who produce a bewildering variety of bokhur fragrances, the recipes of which are closely guarded secrets. Bokhur production varies from one blender to another, but the most exotic types include ingredients like oudh (scented wood from India and the Far East), sandalwood, attar, rosewater, myrrh, raw perfume oils and a variety of aromatic resins and extracts.