Member of:
Language:
No booking fees!
FREE cancellation in most cases!
Hotels in Kazanlak
The Valley of Roses
To visit Bulgaria and not go to the Valley of Roses is to go to Egypt and not see the pyramids. The Valley of Roses is in the very heart of the country and is shielded by the high slopes of two majestic mountain ranges - the Balkan and Sredna Gora.
The rose, the queen of flowers, has been focusing the attention of people since the remote past as a symbol of beauty and youth. It was the Phoenicians who organized first the feast of the blessed flower. Cleopatra chose the rose for her palaces; her bathroom and numerous cosmetic substances all had a rose smell. The ancient Greeks decorated their temples with roses. Homer described rose oil in the "Iliad" and in the "Odyssey". In his "Natural History" Pliny mentions the rose that was grown in Thrace.
The Romans lavishly spent on rose fragrances; they adorned the feast tables with roses and Nero "invented" the rose rain. Christianity
reinterpreted the symbol of fleeting pleasure as the symbol of perfect love and adorned the most virtuous maids with roses.
The emergence of the perfume industry in France in the 17th century triggered off the rapid development of rose production, including the Bulgarian lands. Rose oil that was extracted, as in ancient times by the distillation of fresh rose petals, which were treated with water steam became a kind of Bulgarian currency.
For centuries Bulgarians have planted roses, picked their flowers and extracted their heavenly essence – attar of roses. The rose, this marvellous gift of the land, is admired and used in perfumery, pharmacy and food industry.
The Rose Valley is magically transformed with breath-taking blooms in May and early June each year when The Festival of Roses is celebrated in many towns of the region. Rose picking rituals and folklore displays are presented.
The festival program includes the coronation of Queen Rose (a beauty contest in several rounds), the traditional rose-picking ritual and rose-distillation that gives you a true feeling of authenticity.
The Festival ends with a street procession in which the main role is allotted for the participants of the International Folklore Festival that has been hold parallel to the Festival of Roses for some years.
Other places of interest in Kazanlak
Hotels in Kazanlak
Places to go in Kazanlak
Deals & discounts in Kazanlak
News from Kazanlak
- Kazanluk hosts two unique festivals
- Kazanluk participates in a huge travel fair
- Legendary jazz musician will visit Bulgaria for Rose festival
- Bulgaria-top 50 tours of a lifetime destinations by National Geographic Traveler
- Rose oil production is one of Bulgaria’s most successful tourist attractions that draw tourists
- More Japanese tourists in Bulgaria
- Christmas and New Year Holidays 2011 cheap last minute packages
- Techno Festival Free Open Air Sevtopolis takes place near Koprinka dam
- Cross-Country Mountain Bike weekend in Karlovo, explore the Rose valley on your
- Bulgaria reveals Thracian treasures and relics from Revival period at Expo 2010
- Bulgaria to woo tourists with cultural gems
- Saudi Prince to Fund Bulgarian Archaeological Thracian City Project
- An exploring expedition in search for Odrisi capitals
- Thracian Capital Emerges from Dam Bottom
- Japanese investments in the tourism of Kazanlak town
- Sevtopolis and Bulgarian rose to be presented in European Parliament
- Deep research in Valley of Thracian kings is to begin next year
- Frescoes in Kazanlak Tomb painted by Kodzimases
- Underwater photos of Thracian city Sevtopolis began
- The fulfilment of the project Sevtopolis is value at the amount of 100 million €
- The valley of Thracian kings is an accomplished tourist product
- Rose Festival in Kazanlak
- Today Rose holidays start
- UNESCO to Shield Bulgaria's Thracian Treasures
Touroperator
