World Music Celebrations: Moroccan Rose Festival

The Rose Festival in Morocco starts this weekend. Nestled high in the Atlas Mountains lies the town of El Kelaa M’Gouna in the valley of the roses. The fragrant Damask Rose was introduced to the area by the French in 1938. Shortly thereafter, a distillery was opened to extract the oil from the flowers. Today, almost every rose infused perfume, is created by roses from this area. The roses are harvested and transported for treatment in huge trucks, which create an aura of sweet perfumed air, as they travel through the streets. People dress in pink and white clothing and many wear floral necklaces. As one might anticipate, there are also Rose Queens. Any thing that you can imagine which should smell of roses is available, from Rose Water to those luxurious and very expensive perfumes.