BBC Two's The Frankincense Trail
Kate Humble Walks to Centuries Old Incense Trade Route
Aug 28, 2009
It would have been amazing to sit in the meeting where The Frankincense Trail was pitched to the controllers of BBC Two. On paper, the story reads blander than a remake of The Piano - if it starred Orlando Bloom and Jennifer Aniston. In Frankincense, Kate Humble (Springwatch) flies to Oman to buy a big sack of freshly gathered frankincense and then travels back on a route similar to that of the original traders.
Why? Have the Beeb been inundated with letters expressing interest in the history of aromatic tree resin? The name, The Frankincense Trail, hardly screams excitement either as some folk are just going to assume it's a documentary about religion (which it actually touched on, but more on that later). All this aside though, for the most part it was decent enough stab at trying to drum up the significance of an insipid subject.
The Frankincense Trail begins in Oman
The journey starts in Dhofar, southern Oman, where Humble and her crew pay about £300 for 90kg of top grade frankincense and set off for their 2000 mile trek across south-east Asia. Along the way their camel caravans are accompanied by centuries old tribes who share their customs and traditions. The strangest of these is the sport of camel jumping. No explanation needed really. It won’t be appearing in the Olympic Games any time soon but it certainly looks fun.
Humble proves she is a more than competent presenter and has more to offer in the realms of TV than spending an unhealthy amount of time in the vicinity of the fascinating mammals such as badgers and Bill Oddie. She converses confidently and naturally with various locals, including “super human” camel owner Albert who is intriguing enough to have a spin-off series about his own life.
At one point a car in the convoy breaks down forcing the group to walk through sections of Yemen, which on retrospect must have been a blessing in disguise as it gave the camera crew a chance to get some magnificent shots of unspoilt desert land.
Religious Laws of Saudi Arabia
Once Humble sets foot in Saudi Arabia The Frankincense Trail suddenly becomes seriously socio-political as she delves into the conservative Islamic rules that have precedence over the country. The last 15 minutes were devoted to shots of grumpy men standing around, an interview with a top member of Saudi Arabia's religious police about public execution and asking women about their rights.
The whole equal rights and religious impact is an interesting debate but it seems out of place on what at first appeared to be a humble (boom boom!) documentary about somebody walking through a desert and who was just five minutes previously watching blokes leap over live stock.
Earlier in the show Humble had to constantly explain that the team had deviated off their planned course due to tribal conflicts and dangerous areas. This nugget of information was rightfully skimmed over as it has little to do with the intended topic but had more relevance than discussing the laws of a non-secular nation.
The Frankincense Trail in Four Parts
However, with three more episodes to go (!) perhaps the best is yet to come and although this opening episode did fall down at the end it certainly did a good job of describing the importance of frankincense in the lives of some people and how it is still big business. This series would stay on firmer ground if it ventured away from religious politics and spent more time on the history and wonderful scenery.
The Frankincense Trail is on BBC Two every Thursday at 8pm on BBC Two.
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