The road of the rose aromas

It is not by accident that the rose is the queen of all flowers. Its sorts are numerous and it has accompanied human culture since hoary antiquity.

The genus Rosa L. originates from the evergreen dendroid roses (roses-lianas), spread in the humid subtropical provinces of China, in India, Eastern Africa and America. With the differentiation of today’s climatic zones, which happened about 25–30 thousand years ago, today’s evergreen roses-lianas, the frutescent and the herbaceous roses were formed.

A symbol through the centuries

The rose is an extremely complex symbol, active and contradictory, as it means simultaneously divine perfection and earthly passions – time and eternity, life and death, fertility and virginity.

The golden rose is perfection; the red one – lust, passion, joy, beauty; the white is “the flower of light” – innocence, virginity, spiritual development, charm; the red one and the white one together represent the union of fire and water, the unity of opposites; the blue one symbolises the unattainable, the impossible.

The rose garden is a symbol of Eden, a place of the mystic matrimony – combination of opposites.

In Greece and Rome the rose was the emblem of Aphrodite/Venus. Roses were grown in the Roman funereal gardens as a symbol of resurrection and during the feast of Rosalia people used to throw them on the graves. The Roman Emperor wore a wreath of roses.

In Egypt the rose was a sacred flower of Isis as it symbolised pure love, free of the carnal intentions.

In India the symbolism of the lotus and of the mystic rose as guardian of spirituality coincide to a great extent. The Goddess Lakshmi, wife of God Vishnu, is depicted resting on an enormous rose blossom with thousands of petals.

In China it represents fragrance and consolation.

In Christianity the rose is the flower of Eden for its beauty, perfection and fragrance. Its spines are the sins and the rose without spines, also called Mystic Rose, is Virgin Mary herself. The red rose is the blood of Jesus on his way to Golgotha. The golden rose is a symbol of the pope and a sign of a special pontifical blessing.

In Islam the rose symbolises the blood of the Prophet and also his sons Hassan and Hussein, his two eyes or roses. In the Rose of Baghdad the first circle represents the law, the second – the road, the third – knowledge and the three circles together form the Truth and the names of Allah.

In Kabala the corolla of the rose blossom is the sun and the petals are the infinite but harmonious variety of nature. The rose is an emanation of the Tree of Life.

The oil-bearing rose

Most probably it originates from Persia. The ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese, Persians and Egyptians processed the rose blossoms and produced aromatic oils, scents, wine, tea, medicines. In the Greek, Thracian and Roman civilisations the rose was the most popular ritual plant. The Egyptians used rose products in mummification.

In his Iliad, Homer (8th c. BC) mentions the rose oil with which Hera rubbed the wounds of Hector. Herodotus (5th c. BC) speaks about the rose plantations down Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and about the growing of a rose of a very strong scent in the gardens of Midas, near the mountain Bermion in Macedonia. According to Aristotle (384–322 BC), the Greeks used the Egyptian methods for extraction of rose products and the cultivation learnt from the Phoenicians.

In Roman literature there is more information about agriculture and gardening. Pliny the Elder (24–79 AD), in chapter 6 of book 21 of his Natural History, describes the 12 sorts of roses that differ in their spines, blossoming period, coloration and number of corolline petals. He mentions that in the Thracian provinces of the Roman Empire the Thracians were growing roses and one sort of them bears the name Thracian Rose. The 4th century tomb discovered near the town of Hissar with roses in the mural paintings confirms the statement of Pliny the Elder.

Conquering several peoples about 7th c. AD, the Arabs established a large Islamic state. Using the experience and the traditions of the Assyrians, Persians and Egyptians they created a flourishing rose-growing. This stage is related to the production of rose water and rose oil through distillation of rose blossoms.

We can say that the beginning of the pervasion of the oil-bearing rose and its products from the Middle and the Far East in Europe is the 13th c., after the Crusades. In 1270 Count Bruie brought the damascene rose from the surroundings of Damascus (Syria) to France.

This Damascene rose brought by the ottoman Turks found favourable environment for growth in the Sub-Balkan valleys of Bulgaria.

The Rose Valley

The geographic name Rose Valley designates the sub-Balkan fields from Klissura to Tvarditsa. Most famous are the Karlovo and the Kazanlak rose valleys known for their plentiful rivers and mineral springs.