Taif, Saudi Arabia’s city of roses, blooms anew

Between March and the end of April each year, something quite magical happens in the Hijazi city of Taif in western Saudi Arabia. This temperate mountainous region, located southeast of Mecca, goes into full bloom.

For two months, 900 rose farms are awash with millions of vibrant pink, intensely fragranced roses or rosa damascena trigintipetala, which each have 30 petals.

Most of these roses will be harvested to produce the world’s most coveted – and expensive – rose oil, as well as myriad rose water products. On a global level, these roses have become so famous that their moniker is the Taif rose.

Just outside of Taif in the town of Al-Hada, sitting on the Al-Hada Mountain some 2m above sea level, are rose farms and a distillery belonging to the Al Kamal family. Their company, Al Kamal Rose, is one of the oldest rose oil producers in the country.

Speaking to TRT World, an Al Kamal’s spokesperson said that the Al Kamal family has been working in the field of rose oil production for more than 125 years - since 1887 (1294 AH).

"This is our most important season. March and April are the peak period for Taif roses; we are gathering all the basic products made from the roses. There are three main products produced during the rose season: Taif rose oil, concentrated rose water or Maa Al Aroos and regular rose water. From the regular rose water, we manufacture other products such as soap, shampoo, body lotion and hair dye, totalling around 50 products," the spokesperson said.

Work at the farm begins in December, when farmers plough, manure and water the rose bushes. The bushes are then pruned at the coldest point in the year, mid-January, and come into bloom in March and April. The roses are at their best for only three to four weeks, although this period can be extended if the bushes are regularly pruned and well taken care of.

During this short harvest window, the farmers arrive early each day to handpick the roses before temperatures climb. If left in the heat, the roses will dry out, destroying their precious oil. The roses are then bagged, weighed and taken to the Al Kamal distillery where they are boiled in closed vessels, the vapour travelling through tubes to cool and distil, resulting in highly concentrated rose water.

The rose oil can be found floating at the top of the concentrated rose water and has to be extracted using a special syringe.

The highly concentrated Maa Al Aroos is not suitable for consumption and is used to make cosmetics. However, diluted rose water can be used in cooking and is a staple in most Middle Eastern pantries, where it is a key ingredient in many Arabic sweets and desserts such as kunafeh, basbousa and mouhalabeih.

Rose farming is an extremely lucrative business for Taif's inhabitants. Some 550 million roses are harvested in and around the city each year. Last year, the harvest contributed SAR64 million SAR ($17 million) to Taif’s economy.

According to Latifa Al-Adwani, supervisor of Taif History Centre, rose farms in Taif produce 800 tonnes of rose water and 40,000 tolas of rose oil each year. Just one tola of rose oil (a 12 ml vial) takes 12,000 roses to make, explaining its precious cost.

Damascene rose bushes can also be found in Turkey, Morocco, Bulgaria and India, but it is Taif's roses that are the most sought after by perfumeries worldwide.

Carolina Herrera Oud Couture, Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire, Ormonde Jayne Parfum and Nina Ricci L’Extase Absolue are just a few perfumes by couture brands that have the Taif rose in their base notes.

Taif native Khalid Al Sherbi is a licensed Saudi Arabian tour guide, Saudi tourism expert and founder of Pro Travel Guide. Speaking to TRT World, he explained the allure of his city's roses.

Taif’s roses’ quality, stability and fragrance are completely different, making them internationally renowned for their luxuriousness, aroma and quality.

According to Al Kamal Rose, this is why Taif roses are used to perfume the two holiest mosques in the world, Masjid Al Haram in Mecca and Masjid Al-Nabawi in Madinah.

The rose oil is used to scent the carpets and the kiswah, the black and gold embroidered covering of the Kaaba, said their spokesperson.

"In terms of Saudi Arabia’s economy, Taif rose oil is considered to be our best domestic product in addition to it being the best rose product worldwide. There is nothing like it."

Notably, rose bushes are not native to Taif. Legend has it that the Ottomans brought seedlings with them from the Levant and gifted them to a nobleman in Mecca. He then ordered them to be planted in Al Hada Mountain due to the cooler climate there.

When all the picking and harvesting of blooms are done, Taif's rose season culminates in one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest tourist events, the annual Taif Rose Festival. This year the festival will run from May 7-14.

Organised by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, Taif Rose Festival is a crucial event for the 860 rose farms that take part, as it is their main opportunity to market themselves as well as attract new investors and sell products.

According to tourism expert Khalid Al Sherbi, the rose festival is becoming increasingly popular with locals and tourists, which in turn supports local businesses.

He added, "The number of farms in the market has increased; there's around 900 registered rose farms in Taif. There are around 70 factories in Taif that produce rose oil. These numbers are increasing annually, and when there is an outlet for marketing such as Taif Rose Festival, it is very promising to invest in planting and selling roses. There are easily 100,000 visitors to the rose festival per day."

Last year, the festival attracted 1 million visitors, making it a major cultural event credited with helping revitalise Saudi tourism.

As well as driving tourism to this city in the mountains, the Taif Rose Festival helps break the stereotype of Saudi Arabia’s geography consisting purely of sandy desert. Al Sherbi agrees, saying that when he shows tourists around, they are always pleasantly surprised.

"When we market the rose festival and rose season in Taif and international tourists see it, they are surprised that in Saudi Arabia we have mountains that are over 2.5m above sea level and forests. Tourists ask, 'is it real, are we really in Saudi Arabia?' It really is worth visiting."