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Since ancient times people have been using scents to fragrance themselves and their surroundings. The earliest perfumery dates back to 4000 B.C. in Cypress, and as early as 250 B.C, detailed instructions for making perfume was found in Ancient Egypt. The word "Perfume" is derived from the Latin "per fumus" meaning "through smoke", which shows the close relationship between perfume and incense. Burning resins or woods to release a scented smoke would mask unpleasant smells of the surroundings, but also it was a way to deodorize oneself and attract the opposite sex. Aromatic incense burning was also a means to relaxation and beneficial for decreasing depression. Certain scents were used to sharpen the mind, aiding to receive an heightened conscious awareness, and was extensively used in religious rituals and spiritual ceremonies in Egypt and Persia. The initial perfumes were much different from the liquids we associate with today's fragrances. Ancient perfumes were solid, buttery-oily, and elaborately composed with natural resins, herbs or plant ingredients.
 
As perfumed scents became vastly popular and the need for ceremonial incense increased, the production of the perfuming centers of Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, India and Far East grew rapidly, making perfume and incense outweigh the value of precious stones, gold and silver. Thus, the "Incense Route" (also called the "Perfume Route") was born - an elaborate network of trading routes between East Africa, the South Arabian Peninsula, India and the Mediterranean. The scented treasures became part of the traded commodities of the famous Silk Road, which stretched from the Far East to the European continent.
The most known cities located on the Incense Route were Kashgar, Samarkand, Bukhara, Baghdad, Petra, Damascus and Constantinople (Istanbul). Resin based incense produced by Frankincense and Myrrh trees grown in southern Arabia and the Land of Punt (Eritrea) was freighted across the deserts on camel back. At its peak at the turn of the century, 3000 tons of incense was transported yearly, and the 2,400km main route from today's Yemen up to Gaza would take about half a year for the caravans to travel.
The major incense producing areas in North East Africa, Yemen and Oman still harvest, produce and export this precious commodity, and since the traditional recipes of bakhoor/incense making were handed down through the generations, the incense offered today are in essence 'scents of the past'.
"Cuunsi" Bakhoor of Eritrea
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