Visiting Kasanlik's Rose Stores

Friendly Merchants with a Secret

During my visit to Kasanlik, I had the chance to explore a few local stores. The merchants were friendly, but each one quietly took me aside and whispered in my ear: “Of course, we get along with our competitors, but remember this: ours is the only genuine attar of roses. The rest is all fake. Our rivals will deny it, but we know the truth.” This same speech was repeated in every store I visited. I wanted to believe that all the attar from Kasanlik was pure, but after conducting my own research, I sadly concluded that none of it was completely pure.

The Strength of Attar and Its Price

How Strong is Attar?

Attar of roses is one of the strongest perfumes in the world. From every 4,000 pounds of roses, you get only 1 pound of attar, which is less than one-twenty-fifth of one percent. The peasant farmer earns about 18 shillings per ounce of attar. However, the same ounce sells for £68 in places like Paris or London Coastal Bulgaria Tours.

The scent of pure attar is so strong that only a tightly sealed jar can hold it in. Even a glass stopper won’t be enough to contain the smell. In fact, the scent is so powerful that it can be overwhelming and even cause headaches. This is one reason why attar is often diluted or mixed with other substances to make it more pleasant.

The Beauty of Kasanlik in June

A Land of Roses

The best time to visit Kasanlik is in early June. This is when you can hop on a horse and ride for two days, traveling forty miles each day, while surrounded by endless fields of beautiful damask roses. The air is filled with the scent of millions of roses. On a gentle breeze, the fragrance can travel up to 50 miles. Bulgarians living that far away have confirmed that the air from Kasanlik carries the sweet smell of roses.

Rose Picking in Kasanlik

The Beauty of the Harvest

In June, the village girls wake up early to pick roses. They fill their aprons with the flowers and load them into slow-moving ox carts. No flower festival, like the one in Nice, could ever match the sheer number of roses that fill the carts in Kasanlik. The brown-cheeked, black-eyed peasant girls also wear the most beautiful roses in their hair as they work.