For the past couple of weeks we've been enjoying a colorful Rose Festival here in my home town (Kazanlak).It is an annual festival with pretty long history and usually starts the first week of June.During these weeks of celebration we get to choose and crown our Queen of Roses - a girl who's chosen among all of our high school graduates.We also get to see a few concerts, photo and art exhibitions, crafts and old traditions, we have wine tasting events etc, etc....and a carnaval all through the town led by the Queen herself :)
The Rose Festival is an event that gathers lots of tourists from all over the world- mainly Japan and France ,as these countries also celebrate the beauty and the aroma of the rose.
My home town is situated in a beautiful rose valley and this time of year it's really beautiful and dreamy out here.The rose valley is the home of the famous Rosa Damascena which contains the precious oils used in the parfume and pharmaceutical industries.The flower was brought from the Middle East back in the 1200's and now it's known to live in Bulgaria and Turkey which countries are the main producers of rose oil.Bulgaria produces about 70% of all rose oil in the world. The essential oil is extracted from the petals of the rose through steam distillation which is a labor-intensive process and due to the low content of oils in the rose blooms,the rose oil is very highly priced.A kilo costs about $5000 on the international market but prices can vary.The harvesting of the flowers starts in the end of May and continues through June, it's done by hand and early in the morning before sunrise (while the petals are still moist) and the blossoms are distilled the same day.It takes about 4000 kg of roses to produce 1 kg of oil.This is more than a million flowers!
The rose smell is amazing and really strong.This type of rose looks nothing like the regular roses, it's pink and smells much different.
Me in the rose gardens with my rose necklace on :)
This is our Queen of Roses 2012 - her name is Neli Slavova and she's going to represent our town and traditions during the rose festival in Fukuyama ,Japan.
These rose necklaces were a hit
Here's a photo of the rose oil itself.I got three of these glass things last summer.I managed to get a good price but they still cost me a lot as one of these contains only a gram of oil.The oil is liquid at room temperature but if it gets a bit colder (like under 19 C ) it starts to form crystals - kinda like frozen olive oil.And this is how you know you've got the real thing!
I use it mainly for my face as it has good anti-bacterial and anti-ageing properties and a calming effect on the skin.It works wonders on rashes ,pimples and allergies.I put a tiny amount in my face cream (usually at night) and this is how I keep the breakouts in check.Another great product is the rose water ,which is more common, quite affordable and really refreshing.
and an evening rose after the rain....
