Isparta, a city located in southwestern Turkey is one of the country’s hidden treasures. It is located in the Mediterranean region in an area known for lakes. It has also been the rose garden of the country. In recent years, a lot of lavender fields have become a common occurrence in the city.
The city attracts many tourists with its natural feel and many different tourist attractions, including but not limited to ancient settlements, rafting courses and hiking paths. Rose and lavender fields are also one of these attraction points. The harvest time starts at May and lasts until the end of June. During this period, many tourists visit and experience the delightful sight of these fields. Kuscular, Kuyucak, Ardicli and Aydogmus villages are the main destination for visitors. The Valley of Lavender, located in the town of Keciborlu offers a spectacular view that can compete with Provans villages of France.
The tourists who visit the town during the harvesting period, travel to rose fields and pick roses themselves from the fields, working side by side with the locals and experiencing a unique feel. Afterwards they visit the rose processing facilities and learn more about what kind of processes are applied to the roses after the harvest.
The rose has been the symbol of love throughout history and had immense value. It always attracted the attention of people and became indispensable for princesses and sultans. It is common to encounter the word rose and images in past Ottoman literature and paintings. A good example of that is the miniature portrait of Conqueror Sultan Mehmet, who is one of the most influential sultans of the Ottoman era and conquered Istanbul in 1453. In this miniature he is portrayed smelling a rose, representing the power and grace of the flower.
The history of rose growing in Isparta goes back 150 years. A trader named Ismail Efendi learned about rose oil from a Bulgarian connection and tried to grow roses in an area of 300,000 square feet. The lands of Isparta was not known for its fertility and until then no products could effectively be grown there. It took 4 years for Ismail Efendi to finally be able to grow roses and his reputation was in question during those 4 years as he failed a few times. However after long effort he managed to succeed and his fields and gardens became famous throughout the whole country. He later on expanded his field to 1,000,000 square feet in time and other locals followed his example and started to establish their own farms. In a short time, Isparta became synonymous with rose.
There are around 1,350 rose varieties trademarked in the world. In Turkey, only 24 is trademarked. A specific variety is used exclusively in Isparta, named Rosa Damascena Mill. This variety is grown for the sole purpose of production of rose oil and rose water. Rose oil is used extensively in cosmetic products whereas rose water is sold by itself as a freshener.
Source: Sabah