Moroccan Rose Festival 2013

Morocco is famous throughout the world for its superb rose oil (known as rose otto from the Arabic itr, meaning perfume) and the Rose Festival in El Kelaa M'Gouna is a wonderfully perfumed event worth attending. But because the "valley of the roses" is some six hours drive from Marrakech and accommodation is limited, it is worthwhile making plans well in advance

rosa damascena

This year the festival takes place from May ninth to twelfth

The roses are not farmed in fields as you might see in the south of France around Grasse, but are simply hedgerow plants that bloom once a year. French essential oil producers descend on the area at harvest time and set up stills in the fields. Every year thousands of tons of petals of rosa damascena are distilled in the big copper pots. Rosewater is the main product, but it's the essential oil, in fact a byproduct of the process, that is so valuable. That's taken back to France and sold to perfume and cosmetic houses; it's extremely expensive. The retail price of just 3ml, or half a teaspoon, costs over 150 Euros. The essential oil is extremely difficult to find in Morocco, and simply isn't available in El Kelaa M'Gouna at all. But you can find rosewater and lots of pink face and body creams.

The Rose Festival attracts thousands of Moroccan but few foreign visitors

In countryside homes, it's not unusual to see whole rooms knee-deep in rosebuds and petals that are left to dry. Moroccan women use rosewater on their faces (it's great for combatting wrinkles!), and the dried buds can be mixed with ghassoul (clay) in facial and hair products. It's also used in flower water shakers at celebrations, and spice merchants add dried buds to ras el-hanoot, used in cooking.

Rosewater from El Kelaa M'Gouna is available everywhere in the Fez Medina and is very cheap (around Dh10 for a 200ml bottle). Moroccans make their own rosewater at this time of year, when you can see shops selling nothing but rosepetals, and small zinc stills are widely available.

Hundreds of rose products are available

Photographs: Sandy McCutcheon
Additional text: Helen Ranger

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The Dagger Makers of Azlag

South Central Morocco has been a melting pot of cultures and ideas for many centuries and is home to many thriving artisan communities. This melding of cultures has produced arts and crafts which are distinct from other African Nations. A fine example of this is craft work of the Azlag Dagger Cooperative from the Berber Village of Azlag in the province of Tinghir. The name Azlag means - “come together.”

The art of dagger making goes back over 700 years in this region of Morocco The cooperative (La Cooperative Artisanale Des Poignards Azlag) was found in the early 1980s with the help of the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism. This group is the only one of its kind in the whole country and their craft is an integral part of Moroccan culture. This traditional handicraft provides a livelihood for over one hundred families (almost 1000 individuals) in the village.

Their handcrafted daggers are a blending of designs from Roman, Jewish, Berber, and Islamic influences. One design is the Southern Cross which represents the constellation the Jews used to guide them through the desert. Another symbol is the Hand of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed, which is said to have had healing powers in her hand. It also represents protection from the evil eye, along with representing the five pillars of Islam. In the local culture, daggers are given as gifts at weddings and at other local celebrations; daggers are common items in household décor.

A dagger made for a wedding present was decorated on one side for the groom and on one side for the bride. The bride’s side usually is made of gold with silver (white) on top to symbolize protection from the hand of Fatima. The groom’s side is usually made only of silver with the Hand of Fatima symbolism throughout the design.

The cooperative is located in the town of El Kelaa M’gouna which is just 90 km East of Ouarzazate and 78 km West of Tinghir on the M-10 – the main road that connects Marrakech to Errachidia. Their site has a large showroom which houses many different styles and sizes of daggers and knives. The location also has over 55 individual work spaces and many of the artisans showcase and sell local jewelry, carpets, hand-woven baskets, rose products and other trinkets from local artisans. Visitors can see the intricate steps of the dagger making process. The showroom is open every day of the week from 10am to 6pm, except during religious holidays where the hours are scaled back.

For more information and to view their photo gallery please visit their Facebook page: Azlag Dagger Cooperative

Searching for Morocco on the internet - Trash and treasure!

Searching the internet for stories that relate to Morocco is something The View from Fez team spend a lot of time doing. It is often like rummaging through a trash-n-treasure stall at a market; lots of junk and only a few good items.

One of the tools we use is a Google Alert that picks up key words like Fez, or Casablanca and so on. However, it pays to check the alerts carefully because some stories take a very long time to surface. You can imagine our delight at being alerted to news about a "British Mission to Fez" - and our amusement at how long such news took to reach us. Here is the item:

BRITISH MISSION AT FEZ. London June 5.

Mr. Gerard Louther, the British Minister has arrived in Fez on a visit to the Sheriffian Court. The object of his mission is to assist in carrying out the Anglo-French agreement in respect to Morocco. The British Mission mission was given a brilliant reception by the Moorish tribes upon its arrival at the capital.

That little gem was from page 5 of The Argus, Melbourne, Tuesday June 6 1905!

Another rare and unexpected find was this news that turned up on the internet this morning.

Morocco: The Sultan of Morocco has dismissed the Governor of Anghora for disloyalty. The French are extending their authority throughout Morocco, and have taken possession of several caravans proceeding through the oasis of Taal, which is equidistant from , Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis.

Google Alerts found this from the Tasmanian newspaper The Mercury, dated February 20, 1892!

But today's best find was not an historical oddity that had chosen this moment to pop up, but rather news that there is an extraordinary amount of accommodation available in Kelaat M'Gouna!


Now, for those of you who are not aware of Kelaat M'Gouna, it is home to the famous Rose Festival, visited by over 20,000 people every year. Given that lodgings are hard to find we were delighted to read the following:

Kelaat M'Gouna Vacation Home Rentals
Kelaat M'Gouna offers great vacation house rental and home rental-by-owner deals for the knowledgeable traveler. No matter what budget or level of comfort you seek in your holiday to Kelaat M'Gouna, there's surely a great local vacation home rental available to meet your needs. Browse the list below for information on Kelaat M'Gouna cabins, condos, bed & breakfast inns, luxury suites, corporate apartments and vacation packages.

Well, naturally we couldn't wait to "Browse the list". This is what we found

Vacation Rental Homes in the Kelaat M'Gouna Area.
Bed and Breakfast Kelaat M'Gouna - Morocco - For 26 people.
House. 10 bedroom(s), 1 bathroom(s), sleeps 26

26 people in ten rooms and one bathroom? Mmm...2.6 persons per room... interesting. We are sure it is very nice, but we'll be giving that one a miss. Needless to say there was nothing else on the list.

In the meantime, we are still looking for a house in Fez... with sea views.

Essential oils in Morocco

Last week The View from Fez reported from the Rose Festival at El Kelaa M'Gouna in southern Morocco. But what exactly happens to all those roses that are harvested each May?

hedgerows of roses

The first time Helen Ranger came to Morocco, it was to explore the Valley of the Roses near El Kelaa M'Gouna and take a look at the rose fields. Morocco is famous throughout the world for its superb rose oil that's known as rose otto (from the Arabic itr, meaning perfume).

The roses are not farmed in fields as you might see in the south of France around Grasse, but are simply hedgerow plants that bloom once a year. French essential oil producers descend on the area at harvest time and set up stills in the fields. Thousands of tons of petals of rosa damascena are distilled in the big copper pots. Rosewater is the main product, but it's the essential oil, in fact a byproduct of the process, that is so valuable. That's taken back to France and sold to perfume and cosmetic houses; it's extremely expensive. The retail price of just 3ml, or half a teaspoon, costs over 150 Euros. The essential oil is extremely difficult to find in Morocco, and simply isn't available in El Kelaa M'Gouna at all. But you can find rosewater and lots of pink face and body creams.

copper still at the Rose Festival, El Kelaa M'Gouna

In countryside homes, it's not unusual to see whole rooms knee-deep in rosebuds and petals that are left to dry. Moroccan women use rosewater on their faces (it's great for combatting wrinkles!), and the dried buds can be mixed with ghassoul (clay) in facial and hair products. It's also used in flower water shakers at celebrations, and spice merchants add dried buds to ras el-hanoot, used in cooking. Rosewater from El Kelaa M'Gouna is available everywhere in the Fez medina and is very cheap (around Dh10 for a 200ml bottle). Moroccans make their own rosewater at this time of year, when you can see shops selling nothing but rosepetals, and small zinc stills are widely available.

But it's not just rose oil that Morocco is famous for. The country produces some of the best cedarwood essential oil in the world (cedrus atlanticus). While cedarwood trees can grow to a magnificent size, they're often small and gnarled, piercing through in rocky ground and crevices, and grow to a great age. The oil is superb, like all tree oils, for respiratory problems.

cedar tree in the High Atlas

Orange blossoms are also distilled, and orange flower water is used in the same way as rosewater. There's no orange blossom essential oil though, as this is not a product of distillation but of steeping the blossoms in animal fat to produce an absolute, also known as neroli. But the oranges themselves produce an excellent essences made from the skins.

Where to buy essential oils in Morocco? One of the best places is Herboristerie Firdaous in Marrakech. Si Mohamed and his sister Saida source excellent essential oils including spearmint, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus, thyme, basil, lavender and lots of different citrus oils.


They also stock soaps, incense and wonderful vegetable oils including argan, jojoba, grapeseed, avocado, almond and more unusual carriers such as courgette pip. This tiny shop, in a kissariat or small shopping centre off Avenue Prince Moulay Rachid between Djemaa El-Fna and the Hotel Tazi, has shelves full of thousands of tiny bottles and smells fantastic.

Saida at Herboristerie Firdaous, Marrakech

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

El Kelaa M'Gouna Rose Festival

The View from Fez team rolled into El Kelaa M'Gouna on Saturday, the second day of the three-day Rose Festival in this southern Moroccan town. Helen Ranger reports:

Thousands of people from all over the area converged on the small town, where traffic was diverted, musicians played to local dignatories, beautifully decorated floats paraded the streets, and women were out in all their finery.

The crowds were massive.

An amazing number of people had dressed in rose-pink

Musicians everywhere!

All this in honour of the rose that grows in hedgerows in the surrounding area, and which is harvested in early May. The flowers are distilled right there in the fields, the essential oil is whisked off to France to make expensive perfumes, and the rosewater is available for sale in almost every shop in town. Small boys sell garlands of roses along the roadside and many people wear pink or rose-patterned clothes.

The perfect Moroccan rose.

Every rose product you can think of - plus some.

If you missed it this time, put it in your diary for next year - it's held on the first or second weekend of May every year.

Photos: Sandy McCutcheon. (Click on images to enlarge).

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news