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Bloom seasons and flower fields

Rose harvest in Taif

In spring the mountain farms above Mecca pick pink damask roses at dawn for rose oil.

إطلالة على مدينة الطائف من جبل الهدى.
Photo: عباد ديرانية, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What it is

Taif sits high in the mountains of western Saudi Arabia, cool enough for roses. Its farms, on terraces in areas such as Al Hada and Al Shafa, grow a pink damask rose with about thirty petals and a strong scent. The harvest lasts a few weeks in March and April. Pickers work at dawn, before the sun dulls the fragrance, and the flowers go straight to family distilleries where they are boiled in copper pots to make rose water and a tiny quantity of costly rose oil. The oil is prized in Gulf perfumery. A rose festival is held in the city during the season.

Before you go

  • Visit a farm early in the morning to see picking, then a distillery later in the day.
  • Several family distilleries welcome visitors in season. Ask your hotel to arrange it.
  • The season is short. Confirm that picking has started before you travel.

The flowers you will see

Damask roseA fragrant pink rose grown for oil, water, and sweets in West and South AsiaRoseWoody perennial plants with showy, often fragrant flowers in many colours
About this page

Original text by the Phool desk, written with AI assistance. Background: "Taif" on Wikipedia. Bloom dates move with the weather, and markets and gardens change their hours: check locally before you travel. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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