When Orientalism stuck its nose into the history of scent
When Orientalism stuck its nose into the history of scent newspress_en Mon, 08/31/2026 - 05:38 Culture & Social Affairs In a celebrated passage from In the Presence of Absence , the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish summons cities through their scents, granting each an aromatic memory of its own. “Cities are smells: Acre smells of sea iodine and spices,” he wrote. “Haifa smells of pine and…
The history of scent in the Middle East has been influenced by the widespread phenomenon of Orientalism, which sought to shape and categorize the region's identity. In the celebrated passage from In the Presence of Absence by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, cities are personified through their unique scents, such as Acre's sea iodine and spices, Haifa's pine and crumpled sheets, Moscow's vodka on snow, Cairo's mango and ginger, Beirut's sun, sea, smoke, and lemon, Paris's fresh bread, cheeses, and temptation, Damascus's jasmine and dried fruit, Tunis's night-blooming jasmine and salt, and Rabat's henna, incense, and honey.
This poetic depiction of scents illustrates the deep connection between a city's identity and its aromatic memory.
However, the Orientalist imagination took these scents and reduced, reinterpreted, and recast them to create a dichotomy between an exotic, sensual East and a rational, Western West. The term "Oriental" gradually became a stigma, synonymous with sensuality and a European perspective that harbored unwarranted superiority. The Fragrance Foundation, a leading body in fragrance education and public awareness, recognizes the troubling legacy of this classification and its colonial associations.
In 2021, they replaced the designation "Oriental fragrance" with "amber fragrance" to prevent the term "Oriental" from carrying the burden of Orientalist interpretations.
The association of the East with sensuality and seduction emerged in the late 17th century, signifying a shift from earlier descriptions emphasizing fragrant, refined, and sweet aromas. Words such as "enchanting" and "intoxicating" entered the vocabulary, associated with the harem in literary and visual representations of the East.
The French poet Charles Baudelaire linked the painting Women of Algiers in their Apartment to the intoxicating smell of a house of ill repute. As scholars such as Khaled Fahmy have examined, Cairo's foul air and putrid odors can be traced back to the 19th century, reflecting the complex relationship between scent, health, and the city's identity.
Written by urgent.news from Al Majalla English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
