Traditional rose-water extraction

Posted by Mojtaba (Tehran, Iran) on 29 May 2007 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

What image would you form in your mind of a city whose entire economy is dependent upon the cultivation of "Damascus Roses" and making its derivative products such as Rosewater, perfume, etc.? Yes, that city is "Qamsar" --located in central Iran, near Kashan. arly June in Qamsar is usually the picking season of "Damascus Roses" and their full bloom certainly depends upon the favourable temperature of each Spring. Early before sunrise, the flower-picking women go to numerous gardens on the outskirts of the city and together begin their meticulous job of plucking the roses with their stems intact -- the source containing unique and lasting fragrant.
Annually, in this region, 500,000 tons of flowers are cultivated whose essence are turned both into perfume and rosewater. Visiting the traditional ceremony of "The Rosewater Extraction" surely would provide the tourists with a memorable day filled with exuberant and pleasant experience.