Friday 20 / September / 2024
Muscat: Oman’s rich heritage and culture has been well-known for ages with the Omani hospitality famous across the globe. In a continuing pursuit of enhancing the rich Omani heritage and culture, one of the Sultanate's leading resorts – Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah - has embarked on a new journey to promote Omani heritage and culture in a unique manner.
In an exclusive interview with Times of Oman, Rene Egle, Area General Manager of Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah, said that “a first of its kind heritage café will be soon opened in the resort” that will showcase the rich Omani heritage and culture with a new culinary experience.
Egle said: “Turath Café will open its doors to visitors in October where guests will have a unique experience to have a first-hand feel of Omani heritage and culture coupled with authentic Omani dishes with the aroma of frankincense making its presence felt on the taste buds of our guests. This is our way of promoting the rich Omani heritage and culture.”
Drenched in Arabesque architecture, Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah emphasis on the rich Omani heritage can be felt right from the first glimpse. The exterior was influenced by the modest shapes of historic Omani forts, and is as elegant as the interiors. The interiors of the hotel are enriched with Omani influences, including opulent fabrics, carved wooden fittings in the corridors and rooms, and Arabian lantern-style lighting.
Egle said: “We wish to be unique in presenting the Omani heritage and culture for our guests by offering a culinary delight with the use of Frankincense, dates and honey – three symbolic elements deeply rooted in the DNA of the country. All of these elements are sustainably present in our daily service and culinary scene.
“Frankincense has become vital with the introduction of several dishes such as the smoked chicken at Sultanah restaurant in the Al Husn Hotel, the frankincense ice cream, and frankincense cheesecake. We will now provide a lot of dishes at Turath Café which will showcase the rich culture and heritage of Oman in a new style.”
The area general manager, who took over the second half of 2019, said: “We have our own frankincense garden with baby trees, an initiative that I have personally supervised and I am proud that soon our overseas guests will be able to have a wholesome Omani heritage and culture experience.
“It has taken a lot of efforts by our own frankincense sommelier who has taken two years to be trained in cross collaboration with leading expert Dr. Patricia Groves and Bait Al Zubair Museum – with our frankincense butler, Khalid al Amri.”
Egle said: “We will soon include beginning of the season, art and architecture tours which will consist of a hotel tour to explore the art and architecture of the resort (built on 2006 and deeply focused on the history of Oman – Al Waha represents the village, Al Bandar, the town and Al Husn the fort/castle which defend its town and village).
“The paintings in the resort are mostly from famous local Omani artists and personal shots from His Excellency Mohamed Al Zubair across the decades and his encounters. The architecture of the resort is rooted in the local heritage and culture – from the chandeliers, the small windows. The tour will continue at the Turath Café where we will serve Omani sweets and frankincense treats, traditional Halwa, and mocktails; guests will also be able to visit the Art Museum located on the first floor of Turath Café that has been curated in close cooperation with Bait Al Zubair to display Omani paintings.”
The resort top boss said: “Another key offering will be the serving of Omani coffee in a traditional manner at Turath Cafe. Inscribed in 2015 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, serving Arabic coffee is an important aspect of hospitality in Arab societies and considered a ceremonial act of generosity. We will make our guests relive the traditional way of making and serving Omani Kahwa (coffee).”
Elaborating further on the various efforts the luxury hotel resort has initiated and taken, Egle, a German national and who has been with the group for two decades, prides in introducing frankincense-based products in rooms and the launch of Luban Spa in the resort.
“It took a lot of convincing my bosses to introduce a local brand and flavour in our rooms and then in Spa. We were having one of the biggest brands, L'Occitane of France. To replace the French luxury product with Luban and frankincense-based products needed a lot of persuasion and I am happy to have convinced them. We now have a great demand so much that we have now opened a merchandising venue at Al Bandar to sell oils and other products inside the resort,” said Egle.
One can relax and immerse in the history and heritage of Oman at the first and only Luban Spa in the country. Guests can pamper themselves with rejuvenating treatments infused with the healing powers of the ancient resin of frankincense, which is harvested from Boswellia trees.
Frankincense makes an integral part of Omani culture. “All these efforts are to put focus on Oman heritage and culture and Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah is proud to be playing a lead role in promoting Oman’s rich heritage and culture,” Egle signed off.
