N: Are there any stories in the history of fragrance that have influenced you?
B: There are so many interesting and beautiful rituals. One of my favourites is the scent rituals performed at birth. From the moment of birth, we see this both in the Ottoman Palace and in the shamans, first they burn incense. To purify the surrounding from the evil eye and negative energy.
N: It's like they're celebrating the newborn, right?
B: That's the goal anyway. This ritual is performed to celebrate the newborn baby and to comfort the woman. In the same way, in the Ottoman Empire, when childbirth started, they applied rose oil to their carotid arteries -it is also the point of arousal- and also to the neck area. It has also been medically proven that rose oil relieves childbirth as it relaxes the veins and muscles in research conducted in Vienna right now. Not only the Ottoman Empire, but also many ancient civilisations used rose water. It is possible to see other examples in history. Young girls who wanted to get married used to use the scent of redbuds in the bath. That means that I am open for marriage.
“when we look at all the characters that have shaped history, we see the fragrance culture, male or female.”
N: That also caught my attention; we never talked about men about fragrance… It seems as if the scent and the woman are more united… What is the reason for this?
B: Because fragrance and woman have always been mentioned together throughout history. Women are healers by nature. In the Middle Ages, women were burned that they were witches because they were closely associated with herbs and fragrances. But in fact, it cannot be said that men lag behind when it comes to fragrance. For example, the grand viziers have a bath ritual, it lasts four hours. While walnut oil and pepper are used to prevent the beards from becoming grey, myrtle oil is used for the chest area, face and hair to grow. There are special scents that they rub on their palms when they go to the Friday salute. And not only in the Ottoman Empire. Napoleon, before talking to his soldiers, he would pour cologne on his shoulders, soles, and boots, and he would pour cologne on sugar and pop it in his mouth with his morning drinks. When we look at all the characters that have shaped history, we see the fragrance culture, male or female. The most preferred scent in Rome, which has become the centre of the scent, is "rohidiome." This fragrance is obtained by mixing the sweat of warrior gladiators with rose.