Qamsar Rosewater Harvest

The hills south of Kashan grow the damask rose in quantity, and for a few weeks in late spring the villages around Qamsar and Niasar give themselves over to the harvest and distillation, an operation called golabgiri. Petals are picked before dawn while the oil content is highest, brought to workshops in sacks, packed into copper stills with water and heated over fires, and the condensate collected as rosewater, which is used in Iranian cooking, sweets, medicine and religious ritual. Some workshops are industrial and some are family operations working in courtyards, and many open to visitors during the season, selling directly. Rosewater from here is sent to Mecca for the annual washing of the Kaaba, which the town notes with pride.

What you actually see

• Pre-dawn petal picking - the harvest done before the sun rises.
• Copper stills over fires - the distillation in workshops and courtyards.
• Family and industrial operations - both working side by side in season.
• Rose fields in the hills - terraced planting above Kashan.

When to go

Mid-May to early June, and only then; outside the season there is nothing to see. A day from Kashan. Fridays and weekends in season are extremely busy with domestic visitors and the roads jam.

Honest expectations

The season is short and the exact dates shift with the weather each year. Weekend traffic on the mountain road is severe. Some workshops are set up for selling rather than showing. Quality of rosewater sold varies enormously and adulteration is common.

Nearby

Kashan is north; Niasar and its waterfall are on the same road.