Iran Rose Water Festival

A Hidden Paradise in the Heart of the Iran Desert
Details You Need to Know to Plan Your Trip
Golabgiri (taking damask rose water) is a festival taking place every year from mid-May to mid-June. The ceremony happens in many cities in Iran, but the most famous one is the Kashan rose water festival. A traditional town with the buildings out of “One Thousand and One Nights” tales. Kashan earned its reputation as the “Historical Houses City” based on its mysterious houses. Every year in mid-spring, rose gardens throughout Kashan, come into flower, especially Qamsar and Niasar. Taking rose flower is the ancestral career for many people here. Persian rose water is a valuable gift from this city, and it’s used in cooking, treatments, and also in religious ceremonies.

• Kind: Iranian traditional rose harvesting festival
• Location: Kashan, Iran
• Dates: mid-May to mid-June

History of the Festival Through Ancient Stories
Many centuries ago, when the merchants transported many valuable goods, Persian rose water was being traded. They found many medical benefits for damask rose and its essence. Even Persian rose water was paid as tax. Let’s travel to old Kashan. If you walk around the city, you might see a babbling brook. Follow it, and you reach a pinkish field. People are taking delicate damask roses. Mothers who have infants put their babies in the rose cradle. Sometimes a woman gets tired under the hot sun and sits in the shade of a weeping willow. But she can’t rest for so long as the flowers would lose their scent. Others are carrying flowers to the local manufactory. Some are taking petals. The large copper pots are ready to fill with fresh leaves, and that’s the first step to start rose water production.

Golabgiri was taken place from a long time ago. But from the last decades, it’s changed to a festival which attracts many visitors. They saw rose water production, pinkish rose farms, and high quality rose water are attractive for many visitors. Furthermore, the locals realized this festival can help them to introduce themselves and their valuable product to others.

Culture and Ambience of This Festival
Many men and women standing next to each other on a massive rose field pick the flowers in such rhythmic harmony. It is pleasing to the eyes to see their pace and order in picking roses altogether. Some mothers put their infants among damask roses. They say it helps babies to be protected against allergic diseases. Some visitors learn about taking the rose water process. Furthermore, others who look for peace, get lost in the birds’ song and flowers’ scent.

Golabgiri isn’t just a festival, as it relates farming to art, culture, and even religion. Golab is a symbol of Kashan and shapes the Kashani people’s identity. Rose water is used in many ways. Kashani people are proud of using rose water for cleaning Kaaba, the most important place for Muslims. Rose water festival is an important time in Kashan as it attracts many visitors.

What Makes This Festival Special and Unique?
• Getting in touch with Iranian rural culture by making the connection with locals and learning their daily life
• Getting to know Kashan, a beautiful city popular for its historical architecture
• Spending a day in the rose fields enjoying the beautiful spring weather and lovely aroma of the fresh flowers
• Picking flowers from a rose garden
• Trying high-quality Persian rose water