Morocco Festival of Roses
Wake Up and Smell the Roses.
Imagine waking up in the morning and taking a whiff of full roses. Ah, heaven.
The valley of roses, Kelaat-M’Gouna in Morocco hosts an annual rose festival in May. When I planned my visit for the festival, the dates were not confirmed as it is based on when the roses come into full bloom. I booked my stay during the second week of May and just prayed that the dates coincide with the festival week, which it did. Blessed!
The Valley of Roses sits at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. This town in Ouarzazate province is located about six hours’ drive southeast of Marrakech in the Dades Valley. According to legend, rose bushes were brought here centuries ago by a Berber merchant from Damascus, Syria.
Along the way up the hill, I could see the rose-pickers dressed in flip-flops and djellabas (traditional Moroccan clothing – long loose garment with full sleeves and a hood) busy at work. The scent of roses fills the air.
The roses from the valley are famous for rose water that is produced there and become the base of perfume. Rose water has been used for centuries in natural skincare and beauty products due to its natural antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory abilities. Some are bought by local distilleries, but the majority are bought by large French perfume houses.
Rose water benefits were discovered thousands of years ago and is considered to be a holy ancient herb. It has a long history of use in both beauty and culinary products. In every shop in Morocco and especially at Kelaat-M’Gouna, the shelves are piled with rose products. The local distilleries make soaps, shampoo, perfumes, lotion oil, balm, edible jams, sweets, tea and dried roses.
Morocco Festival of Roses main highlights include a Rose Queen coronation. The young ladies were chosen as representatives of different rose-growing districts. Like at any other pageant, the ladies took turns to sashay down the red carpet in their best traditional outfits, and give a brief speech and interview, before the winner was chosen.
It is worth it to arrive at the festival a few days early to see the harvesting process and watch the decoration of the streets that are lined in beautiful hedgerows and blankets of roses.
During the festival, not only will you see a spectacular amount of roses, I tremendously enjoyed the exhibition, sword manoeuvres, snake charming, flea markets, traditional Berber dishes, musical and dancing.
The Kelaat-M’Gouna Festival of Roses is a unique event in Morocco and is worth the journey for a very special experience. Stop and smell the roses.
Watch Video: Morocco’s Festival of Roses 2018
Nicky Urban provides fine art photography, fine art photographer, fine art prints, framed canvas print, framed wall pictures, freelance photographer, street photography, documentary photography, gift shop for wall art prints, home decor, and gift ideas, for your home and office.
NICKY URBAN
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