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Legend tells us...
that the great Cleopatra, Queen of all Egypt and ruler of men’s hearts, had not always been the stunning beauty that history remembers her as.
Growing up at the sumptuous royal court, fed the most luxurious and richest foods available and exposed as a girl to the merciless heat of the North African sun, young Cleopatra was often seen to be wearing a white veil.
With this she hid the terrible facial blemishes that would not go away, in spite of the best efforts of the royal physicians.
One day one of her Sudanese handmaidens told her about an ancient remedy, well known amongst her people. From the Mountains of the Moon,, traders would return with rocks of volcanic ash, which, when ground to a powder and applied to the face in the form of a wet clay mask, would leave the skin invigorated, healthy and fresh.
At first her father dismissed the idea of sending an expedition to these mythical mountains for nothing more than a caravan of donkeys laden with rocks, but, as any beloved daughter would, she eventually wore away his resistance.
Many months later they returned, bearing their strange treasure. Household slaves went to work, grinding the rocks to a fine powder. Cleopatra and her most trusted handmaidens vanished into seclusion for one whole month.
When she emerged, at the annual festivities in celebration of Isis, the goddess of wisdom and magic, her veil was nowhere to be seen. The envious ladies of the court stood in astonishment, stricken by the perfect skin and serene beauty of their ruler-to-be.
Every year from then onwards, an Egyptian mule-train would make the long journey to the Mountains of the Moon. And young Cleopatra would go on; to conquer the hearts of the most powerful men in the ancient world, Julius Caesar and later, Mark Anthony, ruler- generals of mighty Rome.
And in her private quarters, in a place of honor, the legend continues, there would always be a special jar of white jade, filled with this precious gift of beauty, deep from within the heart of Africa.
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