As the center of Sultanic power during the early centuries of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul's Topkapi Palace is a majestic and sprawling complex, one that could be explored over a lifetime without ever fully revealing its secrets. Ottoman Treasure, the latest from Alghabra, gives this marvelous Palace the tribute it deserves with a rich, complex, compelling oriental scent with plenty of hidden depth of its own. A quick glimpse at the listed notes should give you some sense of what you're in for- there's hardly a traditional top note to be found. Instead, Ottoman Treasure emerges right from the bottle in a hypnotic swirl of smoky white oud and resinous labdanum, lightened only with the gentler smoke of pure olibanum incense and a spicy pop of pink pepper berries. But even with additional notes of earthy patchouli and golden amber in the mix, the composition, like the Palace itself, always leaves space beneath the high-vaulted ceilings for exploration and discovery, as a distinctively mossy basenote keeps overt heaviness at bay despite the powerful richness. Mysterious, regal, intriguing- Ottoman Treasure is everything something seeking a complex yet wearable oriental could ever hope for.