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Rose Festival in Bulgaria
Every summer many tourists come in coaches and by air, armed with arsenals of cameras, notebooks and guides . They return home with luggage stuffed with films , Bulgarian rose oil, wine and brandy and their memories and full of good hotels and restaurants , excellent cooking and wine that sparkles like a blend of autumn sunshine!
Bulgaria is situated at the heart of Balkan peninsula. Against its eastern coast laps a warm and limpid sea well known as a Black sea. The northern frontier is the Blue Danube, in the south are the Rhodope mountains, which according to the legend in Ancient time were home of Orpheus , which greet singing made Goods jealous . In the west are the majestic Rila and Pirin ranges . The 370 mile long Balkan mountains stretching eastwards as far as the Black sea coast are a natural border between Northern Bulgaria and South Bulgaria . They are also protection for the Valley of roses from severe cold and wind .
The first roses were brought to the region by the returning soldiers of Alexander of Macedon’s garrisons. Belgian chronicle mentions that in 1210 crusaders saw large areas planted with roses. It is however not clear whether it was not crusaders themselves who brought the roses to that region from town Kashan in Persia through Syria and Damasens.
The scientists presume that the cultivation of the roses was introduced to the region round Kazanluk , a town founded by the Turks in 1420 . The roses were reportedly brought from Tunisia by a Turkish judge , who had beautiful vast garden planted with fragrant roses . This is the trip of the rose from Persia to Bulgaria . The climatic conditions of Kazanluk proved to be more favourable for the cultivation of rose than those in its country of origin.
Distilling equipment was imported from Persia and Tunisia . They were very carefully tested and assessed and Bulgarian rose oil made a name for its superior quality. The demand for this oil of unsurpassed quality has not faded until today . Bulgarian producers of the time became aware of the fact that they were manufacturing a new and precious product , and that the industry of rose processing had to expand towards the production of rose oil , rather than rose water. Soon the oil was named attar ( The drink of the Goods ).
The attar of roses is still second to none and in former times was an important item of world’s markets . First is exported mainly to Constantinople , where it appears on the market in fantastic looking glass tubes like thermometers. The new industries of perfumery and cosmetics that were flourishing in Western and Central Europe change the market place from Constantinople to Vienna , Frankfurt and Paris . The new direct road connecting Bulgaria and Vienna , as well as the boat traffic along the Danube River came into use. Nowadays it is exported all over the world and any perfume of repute is sure to be based on Bulgarian attar of roses.
The valley and the rose gardens near Kazanluk have attracted any number of celebrated personages and this is one of the best descriptions , There can be nothing more lovely than this vast expanse of roses . If a painter tried to depict it he would be accused of exaggeration. The light-green carpet of the rose gardens is strewn with many millions of cabbage-roses though perhaps only about a quarter of the buds are yet open
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The Bulgarian rose production is popularised every year during the Festival of Roses .Its originates from the celebration held at the beginning of the rose harvesting period. Old rose growers used to organised pageantry’s in which manufacturers paraded , dressed up in rose flowers . The first Rose festival in Kazanluk took place in 1903 . Few years latter , a similar festival was organised in the town Karlovo , situated in the same area- Rose valley and also famous with its rose production . The celebration on a national level was held in Pavel Banya on June , 1967. Manufacturers from the whole valley, together with masked dancers, called, koukeri, were singing and dancing. This type of celebration became traditional in Kazanluk and Karlovo.
Three main events are interesting for the guests of the festival the electing of Queen Rose , the harvesting ritual in the rose gardens and the parade along the streets of the town . Usually the festival begins with the Queen Rose beauty contest and continues with the coronation ceremony in her honour . The chosen beautiful girl must reward later the most skilful rose pickers in the rose harvesting ritual .The rose industry has long ago proved its primary importance as a means of sustenance for the people living in the Rose Valley , for them it has become a way of approaching Nature.
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