There are a lot of expats in Kuwait, and quite a few women seem to have some kind of small business where they import a good and then sell them at the numerous bazarres that are organised, especially around now in the run up to Christmas.
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We went yesterday to one of the larger bazarres - it was your classic market, but held indoors, and full of all kinds fo interesting stuff, from jewellery to clothing to lots of Christmas things. We bought a few cards to send home to friends and family, and also some francincense. Ofcourse, the Three Wise Men came from these parts, and francincense was a huge business many years ago, and made some tribes very very wealthy. It is actually chewed by the Arabs, like gum, and is considered to have medicinal effects. Myrhh is also mixed with water and drunk, but we were told it is very bitter.
Here is a little bit of information.
The origins of myrrh and frankincense are traced to the Arabian Peninsula. According to Herodotus (5th century BC): "Arabia is the only country which produces frankincense, myrrh, cassia and cinnamon...the trees bearing the frankincense are guarded by winged serpents of small size and various colors." Diodorus Siculus writes, in the second half of the first century BC, that "all of Arabia exudes a most delicate fragrance; even the seamen passing by Arabia can smell the strong fragrance that gives health and vigor." He also mentioned gold mines so pure that no smelting was necessary. The Magi, carrying myrrh, frankincense, and gold, came from the East: Arabia. The frankincense trade route, with transport by donkeys and later by camel caravans, reached Jerusalem and Egypt from the Dhofar region of what is today Oman, through Yemen, turning north to follow the Red Sea coast. It is likely that the same or similar species of the resin-bearing plants grew across the Red Sea in the area that is now Somalia and Ethiopia, while the collection of the gum resins was initiated in Arabia.
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