The Roses of Taif

موضوع: The Roses of Taif الجمعة مارس 19, 2010 2:00 pm

The Roses of Taif

Each April, Some 2000 farms in the uplands near Taif turn pink. A single species of intensely perfumed, delicate pink flower annually transit forms the rural communities of al-Hada ("Tranquility") and al-Shafa ("The Edge") into fragrant, roseate splendors. For three centuries, the oil-rich, 30-petal damask rose (Rosa x Damascena trigintipetala) has been cultivated here and processed into precious attar of roses and its popular—and even older—counterpart, rose water.

Blessed with a climate that makes it a refuge from the heat of nearby Jiddah and Makkah, the highland haven of Taif is one of Saudi Arabia's fruitbaskets, as well as a popular summer resort. West of the city, the land rises above 2000 meters (6400), and it is here that favorable temperatures, plentiful groundwater, well-established irrigation systems and fine topsoil have combined to earn the region the name "Arabia's Rose," ever since roses began to be cultivated here in the Ottoman era.

The word attar, which is today a synonym for rose oil, comes from the Arabic 'itr, meaning "perfume" or "essence." The first description of the distillation of rose petals was written by the ninth-century philosopher al-Kindi, and more sophisticated equipment was described in the 10th century by al-Razi (See Aramco World, May /June 1997); one of the earliest centers of rose-water production was in southern Persia. Later, in the 13th century, rose water was produced widely in Syria, and the name of the oil-bearing rose genus Damascena may trace its origins to the city of Damascus. But true attar—rose oil as we know it today—was not produced until the late 16th century, when the double-distillation technique was developed.

No one is certain how the 30-petal damask rose first came to Taif. The impulse for its cultivation, however, assuredly lay in Taif's proximity to Makkah. That the rose of Taif is virtually identical to the famous Bulgarian "kazanlik" strain suggeststhat Taif's roses may have been transplanted from the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks, who occupied that area from the mid-14th century and the Hijaz from the 16th century. However, the kazanlik rose—its Turkish name means "suitable for the [distiller's] kettle"—has its own roots in the Persian rose plantations around Shiraz and Kashan, which in turn supplied fields in Syria. A legend among the growers of al-Hada says that the flower originally came from India.

Today, Taif's production, though high in quality, is modest when compared to the quantities produced by larger, export-oriented operations in Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, China, India, Morocco and Iran. But the market is not oversupplied, for, now as always, attar is painstakingly obtained, and both its potency and its price remain so high that a gift of this precious oil is one of the highest compliments that can be paid to anyone.

In the early days, up to 200 years ago, Taif's rose petals were collected and sealed into sacks for transport by camel roughly 65 kilometers (39 mi) down to the holy city of Makkah. There, Indian pharmacists distilled attar from them, using a process not unlike that used today. These artisans became masters of one particularly fine type of attar that they produced by infusing rose distillate into sandalwood oil, resulting in a blend with refreshing floral and woody notes. Interestingly, this blend can still be found in India, though it is now rare in the Saudi Arabian market.[center][b]

موضوع: رد: The Roses of Taif السبت مارس 20, 2010 5:41 am

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موضوع: رد: The Roses of Taif السبت مارس 20, 2010 7:04 pm

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موضوع: رد: The Roses of Taif الأحد مارس 21, 2010 6:22 am

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موضوع: رد: The Roses of Taif الإثنين مارس 22, 2010 5:25 am

موضوع: رد: The Roses of Taif الإثنين مارس 22, 2010 7:08 pm

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