Fodor's Expert Review Perfume Souk

Scents play a significant role in Arab traditions. Burning herbs and incense fill a room or tent with fragrance, and natural essential oils are mixed to create perfumes for the body. Traditionally were a luxury for the affluent, perfume oils are still stored in ornate bottles with tops fashioned from cut glass and semiprecious stones. Even with today's international fragrance brands, you can still have your own scent mixed at the Perfume Souk, which is more a dispersion of similarly themed stores along a street rather than a formal market area. Avoid the commercial brands (they may not be genuine anyway), and instead allow the perfumers to advise you on which oils are most suitable for your skin and lifestyle. They'll pack it all up in a unique bottle that doubles as a souvenir of the experience.