THE HOUSE OF WISDOM

Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been forgotten were translated into Arabic and later in turn translated into Turkish, Sindhi, Persian, Hebrew and Latin.

With the advent of Islam some innovations came into the production of perfume. Muslim scholars and scientists developed a method of extracting the fragrance of substances through steam distillation. Also, new raw materials were introduced by Islamic civilization.

Perfumes were part of daily life in the Islamic world. The scents were derived from flowers mainly rose and jasmine, ambergris and musk. Imported orange trees provided orange blossom and citrus scents as well.

A hadith (saying of Prophet Muhammad) directly mentions the use of perfume. "Taking a bath on Friday is compulsory ... and the cleaning of the teeth with miswak and the use of perfume, if available"

- (Sahih Bukhari)

Al Zahrawi, who was a physician from Cordoba, wrote a treatise called "The Medicines of Beauty" in which he dealt with cosmetics. Here Zahrawi provides information about perfume and mentions perfumed sticks. According to the section on cleanliness in "1001 Inventions; Muslim Heritage in our World" (second edition), published by the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, these sticks were like modern-day roll on deodorants.

Two Muslim scientists, Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber - the father of Algebra - born in 722 in Iraq) and Al Kindi (Iraq, 801) came up with many new techniques that made perfume easier to produce.

Jabir ibn Hayyan developed techniques for evaporation, filtration and distillation. Al Kindi carried out a number of experiments that combined different plants and raw materials, creating new scents. He produced a great number of records on how to create a variety of perfumes, as well as medicines and cosmetics.

We learn again from 1001 Inventions that Al Kindi wrote a work about perfumes called "Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations" Here more than a hundred recipes for fragrant oils, salves, and inexpensive alternatives to costlier drugs could be found. The book also described 107 methods and recipes for perfume-making.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina) was one of the great minds of the Islamic Golden Age of the 10th century AD. A philosopher, doctor, and proto-chemist he has left us one of the great innovations of perfume. While those perfumes of the Ancient World used fragrances that had been distilled into oils, Avicenna created a scent which had been distilled into alcohol. Almost all modern perfumes are created this way as it removes the sometimes unpleasant aroma of the oil itself and makes the perfume cleaner to apply. Avicenna’s distillation of roses was used as a medicine but none of later cosmetic perfumery would be possible without it.

In the West after the fall of Rome perfume became thought of as a wasteful luxury. No doubt it was still used but it was a less celebrated trade. The wafting of incense in a church was probably the closest the average person came to a purposefully created perfume.

Perfume came to Europe via Andalusia, as well as being brought by people returning from the Crusades. That is, perfumes started to come to Europe in the 11th century. Records from Guild of London dating from the 12th century show that trade was carried out with the Muslims for perfume, as well as for other commodities.

It was the Hungarians, in particular Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, who were responsible for making perfume popular in Europe.

In 1370 Queen Elizabeth ordered that scented oils be blended in an alcohol solution; this became known throughout the continent as Hungary Water.

In Renaissance Italy, the art of making perfumes grew and Catherine de Medici had her own perfumer, Rene le Florentin. His formulas were so closely guarded that a secret passageway connected Catherine's apartments with the perfume laboratory.

When Catherine married the future king of France, Henry II, and moved to France, she took perfume with her; it was from this date that perfume became popular in France.

In the 14th century flowers started to be grown in the south of France solely for use in perfumes. This region is still the most popular place for growing flowers to be used in perfume.

BY JANE LOUISE KANDUR         

ISTANBUL FEB 13, 2016 - 12:00 AM GMT+3