![]() ![]() Everything was good and the charity made the residents of the village happier,” Abdulrahman said.Ī fishing cove in Sirah, Aden province, southern Yemen (MEE) “The fishermen gave some money to needy people in al-Khaisah village in an act of charity for the sake of God. Each person got money based on his role.” Sharing the spoilsĪt such a tough period of Yemen’s history, where two-thirds of the country’s 30 million population are reliant on humanitarian aid, and at least 230,000 people have been killed in the conflict, good news is a rarity.īut the ambergris discovery will transform the lives of the people of al-Khaisah, a village of around 1,000 families in the al-Buraiqa district south of Aden city. “Some fishermen got 30 million, some others less or more, and even the guards got 250,000 rials each. “Every family in al-Khaisah was filled with happiness, because all of them got some money from the sale of the ambergris,” Abdulrahman said. The ambergris weighed in at 127kg and the fishermen sold it to a trader from the United Arab of Emirates, Abdulrahman acting as the broker. They then sold it for 1.3bn Yemeni rials, which is worth about $1.5 million on the street. To avoid any disputes, the fishermen agreed on a percentage for each man before selling the ambergris. “More than 100 fishermen participated in bringing the whale to the coast, cutting it open and then guarding the ambergris and selling it,” Abdulrahman said. 'More than 100 fishermen participated in bringing the whale to the coast, cutting it open and then guarding the ambergris and selling it' ![]() Until there it was: life-changing wealth. They found blubber, guts and bone, but the precious ambergris was nowhere to be seen. ![]() “So they asked nine boats to help them and they brought the dead whale to a beach off Aden's Shamsan Mountain,” he added.īy noon that day, the fishermen began slicing open the whale’s carcass. “The displaced fisherman was in a boat with other fishermen, and more were in another boat nearby, but they couldn’t bring the dead whale to the coast alone,” Abdulrahman recalls. ![]() He said maybe he’d passed by some floating in the water, but never recognised it, as he was only on the lookout for fish to catch. Meanwhile, Charles II of England ate ambergris with eggs for breakfast.Ībdulrahman had never found ambergris in all his years fishing. They also used it as an aphrodisiac, a property Nostradamus and many others throughout history have believed it had. It is used by top-end perfume houses, such as Chanel and Lanvin.Īmbergris’ use has not always been restricted to perfume, however.Ĭenturies ago, Arabs employed specially trained camels to seek it, and used ambergris in medicines for the heart, brain and senses. Quite apart from its scent, the oil extracted from ambergris, ambrein, is used by top perfumers to help fix perfume to human skin and make it last longer. In 1895, the New York Times described the odour as “new-mown hay, the damp woodsy fragrance of a fern-copse, and the faintest possible perfume of the violet”. When first extracted, ambergris is said to have an overpowering and repugnant smell, which mellows into a musk far sweeter as it dries out. The Aden fishermen found their lump inside a whale’s intestines, but less than five percent of dead sperm whales contain ambergris. A kind of liqueur made of ambergris was served as a flavoring agent in Turkish coffee in the 19th century.ĭuring the era of the Black Death in Europe, people believed that carrying a ball of ambergris could help prevent them from contracting the plague.A piece of ambergris (National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution) A serving of eggs and ambergris was reportedly King Charles II of England’s favorite dish. “The market price of the product is around 10 million liras,” a police source told local media.Īmbergris has historically been used in food and drink. The man, only identified with his initials F.A., was nabbed. On conducting a raid on the suspect’s vehicle and house, the security units found the ambergris weighing 42 kilos and 750 grams. Ambergris, a solid, waxy and flammable substance of a dull grey or black color produced in the digestive system of sperm whales, is used extensively by the perfume industry.Īccording to local media, the police sources took action upon notification that “a suspect has brought a heavy load of whale puke in the country illegally.” ![]()
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