TAIF — An emblem of magnificence and style, the Taif rose additionally holds a big place within the governorate’s historical past, with its vibrant pink hues and candy scent attracting worldwide guests. The long-lasting flower even impressed an Indian pilgrim to assist set up the governorate’s first rose manufacturing unit.
The story of Taif’s century-old rose manufacturing unit and its rose distillation strategies has been handed down from technology to technology, preserving the secrets and techniques which have formed the id of this heritage product.
A Taif native, Abdulrahman bin Humaid Al-Qurashi, recounted to the Saudi Press Company that the story started together with his grandfather, who used to promote Taif roses to pilgrims, the place their high quality caught the eye of one of many pilgrims coming from India, who promised to carry him a particular copper pot for distilling roses within the following season.
Al-Qurashi says: “The pilgrim fulfilled his promise and introduced the copper pot, which we nonetheless have at the moment for greater than 100 years,” noting that his grandfather started utilizing it to prepare dinner roses to extract solely rose water, till a discovery modified the course of the work, when he managed to extract rose oil for the primary time.
He added that his grandfather used to undergo from crop spoilage in some seasons, however the usage of the copper pot contributed to the event of rose merchandise, which started with rose water after which developed into producing the costlier rose oil.
He indicated that their household is taken into account the primary to follow cooking roses, as his grandfather Abdullah was among the many first to take action within the Inexperienced Valley between the Al-Hada mountains.
Al-Qurashi identified that the value of rose water at the moment was about 1.5 riyals. Because the business developed, it gained higher financial worth, and the primary tola of rose oil was offered at a excessive value as a consequence of its rarity and prime quality.
Concerning the main points of the occupation, he defined that it begins with the primary gentle of daybreak, the place the roses are rigorously picked to protect their fragrant oils, then transported to conventional workshops and positioned inside copper “pots” that also retain the scent of historical past.
He emphasised that the rose farms in Al-Hada and Al-Shafa are among the many most well-known globally, in accordance with farmers’ experiences, as a result of splendid environments they supply for producing high-quality roses.
He additionally famous that farmers proceed to refine their strategies whereas preserving the standard heritage that has distinguished Taif roses for many years, reworking them right into a product offered in numerous native and world markets.
