Thebes G1
Sultan Pasha (2016)

The moment I smelled Thebes I, I knew it was special. There are compositions that intrigue, those that you like, the ones you love, and a few that strike a certain chord, deep inside. Those are special.

To me, it is a perfume of self-reflection. A composition of solitude. It feels cold and dry. There's a vague brightness at first from the aldehydes, and the muguet accord, even some sweetness from resins. But what dominates is this dry, dusty, worn leather accord, together with earthy vetiver and an orris almost chalky in texture. Sprinkled with a dash of animalic accords. I always picture this as the smell of a tomb, being inside a stone pyramid. Outside there's light and fresh air, but as you walk inside, darkness takes over. The stone is cold, the air is damp, the dust has gathered over the leather garments for centuries, and there's a lingering memory of the ceremonial rites that used to take place inside, sending shivers down your spine.

A little treasure that I usually enjoy in private, contemplating...

IG: @memory.of.scents

This opens with a musical and olfactory turmoil that relates to the vague repel of Peau d'Espagne. Yes a waxy promise of Iris powder.
Remarkable though is the quick subside of The Adelehydic assault and the emergence of a dry Rose layered upon Savon tonally brightened by Citric bittered Bergamot. For a moment notice the Lead of Jasmine indolic of Petroleum lies almost as if upon the surface.Labdanum and smoky Vetiver are wrapped in an animalic sweet.
Ancient and Magically simple. Leather.

When applied to your skin you get the smell of a worn leather jacket coupled with a cool iris accord. Imagine Indiana Jones all by himself approaching a ancient untouched temple in the jungle early on in the morning. As Indy enters this temple their is no longer a roof and all the stonework has been overgrown with thick green vines and tropical flowers.

As Indy is searching for something the smell of Lily Of The Valley mixes in with Indy's worn leather jacket and the iris, the cool morning jungle air can be felt giving the scent a freshness. As time goes by as Indy searches the temple, roses and ambergris can be smelled in the mix.

The scent is very sombre and meditative with that lonely vibe that you are all by-yourself contemplating the meaning of life. All in all another beautiful fragrance by Sultan Pasha. Wow!

Thebes and I, admittedly had a bit of a rougher go on our first meeting - not due to the fragrance itself, but rather due to my nose and the conditions surrounding the meeting. To me, Thebes is a bit of an odd man out in the sample pack I had received - let me rephrase that: Thebes is a bit of an odd man out when it comes to fragrance, period. It seemingly defies categorization - it defies expectations that could be built off looking at note breakdowns - it defies.

Thebes calls to the ancient heritage we all come from - an olde world that we simply have had our access cut off from, save with divine intervention through experiences like this one. Thebes is bizarre, there's no doubt about that. It's paradoxical in a lot of aspects: clean and dirty, light and heavy, fresh and archaic, we could be at this for some time, but it's all worth noting so that one might have a proper idea of the sort of reverence one should have when approaching Thebes: it's not a fragrance that you can really wear, Thebes instead wears you.

This is I'm convinced one of the major names that the Sultan Pasha house can boast as a pure masterpiece in every sense of the word. What would I initially use to describe Thebes? Musky, smoky, green, dusty, bitter, ethereal, heavy, white, clean, aldehydic, cool, earthy... Perhaps I should stop there for now. Thebes starts to me with strange and ancient echoes of bergamot and a earthy dried vetiver surrounding an ancient temple in the middle of nowhere with heavenly (otherwordly and divine) white floral notes being carried by a gusting breeze (aldehydes) from the opening of the temple, and with ancient orris roots jutting from the ground all around its entrance. The bergamot, though ancient, occasionally still drips a drop of dew every few minutes, and as you step forward you brush against the brittle vetiver and into the white florals (jasmine? lilly of the valley?) whose syrupy dew get upon you and combine with the bergamot to keep the humidity from your body from fully leaving you a bone dry mess. The animalics and musk coming from deep, deep within the temple are foreboding, and yet enticing at the same time tempting you to gain entrance, but warning you that your mind might not be able to hand what there is within.

Each time I wear Thebes I feel as though I have discovered another room within the temple - on some wearings one finds the room which the orris root has overtaken, and the lovely iris aroma fills the room as the hours have passed from the adventuring deep within, and becomes the primary note you can smell, with a green/dusty vetiver still clinging to your boots - and other times still you will find the room from which all of the animalic qualities and musk came from - a room where ancient Gods icons were represented with towering sculptures - half human half animal - and below them a series of pelts and nuggets of resin/petrified animalic remains hang about - all still smelling relatively fresh and thick with the air of life having just left the room prior to your entrance and the thick, dark musk wraps you up in it's effervescent glow and your remain there until the fragrance ends. Other times still, the floral notes seem to scream from throughout the halls and lead you to a chapel of sorts, where your vision starts to go, and the florals with it - there is a warmth and a sweetness here carried over from the tail end of the florals that seems to appear from out of nowhere, and though it is difficult to make anything out, the room is a very pleasant appearance on the horizon of scent that you previously encountered, and as such it gently whispers against your skin as you carry forward, eventually finding yourself outside of the structure and without an idea of what just happened.

Ultimately Thebes is a Mysterious Masterpiece that is as challenging as it is rewarding - one which must be tried by any means possible.
A perfect 10/10

YT: Jess AndWesH

This finely blended oil is the scent of wisdom and time. Dry wood, dust and mixed grasses, old leather and human skin are details of Thebes G1. I would summarize the scent as a dusty dry leather musk. The dryness has tones of old hay and earthy vetiver. The leather smells of old skin, well worn hides, then the vetiver and hay scent in the background for a reminiscence of Muscs Koublai Khan only lighter, drier. The heart notes reveal the musk that is one of the best smelling musks I have worn. Lighter than MKK while rose adds a slight radiance to the decaying dryness of old leather - uplifting from the rare rose oil. For me, this is easily one of the best leather / musk fragrances ever. Rated: 9/10.