MOLDPRES REPORT: First day of Rose Festival in Kazanlak, Bulgaria

Sofia, June 3 /MOLDPRES/- The 18th world meeting of Bulgarian Media, organized by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), in which the MOLDPRES State News Agency also participates, is held on 1-4 June in Kazanlak, the city celebrating 120 years since the founding of the Rose Festival, an event that gathers thousands of guests and tourists from all over the world.

The Rose Festival is held in the first weekend of June. "The festival has been held annually since 1903 in Kazanlak. It celebrates the country's connection with Rosa Damascena, the Bulgarian rose with rich oil content, as well as all the gifts with which the Rose Valley has been blessed for centuries. The festival includes cultural, social events, dances, music and sports competitions", reports the MOLDPRES special envoy in Kazanlak.

"The rose -  we can see not only a symbol of Bulgaria, but also its connection with the rest of the world, because its history passes through many of the countries whose national news agencies are invited here today," BTA director-general Kiril Valchev said. 

"The first mention of rose water was made in the 9th century in Persia, today's Iran, and in the 17th century rose oil was already being distilled there. In the 10th century, rose water was brought to Spain. The Damask rose came to Bulgaria from Turkey. In Hanoi, Vietnam, a festival of Bulgarian roses is organized. Kazanlak is a twin city with other rose cities, such as Blida in Algeria," Valchev said.

"Even before Bulgaria became a free country again, in the middle of the 19th century, there were 1271 cauldrons for boiling rose oil in Kazanlak. Dimitar Papazov's first rose oil export trading house had offices in Constantinople, Paris, London and New York. Petko Orozov's company traded in Russia, Austria-Hungary and France. And after Liberation, Kancio Shipkov exported 1,600 kilograms of rose oil annually and participated with a stand at world exhibitions in Paris, London and Chicago, while Aleko Konstantinov, in his travelogue to Chicago and Back, writes how the representative of Shipkov's company taught geography on the map, starting the lessons in Constantinople. Then he went to our capital, circled the borders of Bulgaria with signs and stopped in the Valley of Roses, which he renamed, for greater effect, "the so-called earthly paradise". This success of the industrious Bulgarians has no expiration date, just as rose oil itself does not an expiration date", BTA director-general said.

"At the beginning of summer, with Kazanlak, we celebrate all Bulgarians, because the symbol of Kazanlak - the Damascena rose, is a symbol of our entire beautiful homeland and because with every emblem, word or picture that mentions Bulgaria, everyone imagines the rose", vice-president of Bulgaria Iliana Yotova said.

According to the Bulgarian official, "today and every day we must wake up every morning as May roses wake up at dawn - fresh, with dewdrops, waiting for the sun. And we, the citizens of Bulgaria, must wake up thinking about our beautiful homeland".

"For 120 years, a beautiful and fragrant tradition has been born and lives in this city, for 120 years it has been a celebration of beauty, youth, love and unity. You are chosen to live here, because you are a descendant of people who spread the Bulgarian glory all over the world, wearing the fragrant oil of rose", the official said.

The celebration began with a solemn blessing of water for health and well-being, celebrated by Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora together with the priests of Kazanlak. "For 120 years, beauty, hope and love have sustained this city, for 120 years we celebrate the Rose Festival thanks to the oil-bearing rose, the symbol of our beloved city," said the bishop.

The event continued with an honor guard of the 61st Stryam Mechanized Brigade led by Brigadier General Margarit Mihailov and continued with a solemn ceremony of raising the flags of Kazanlak and the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Kazanlak celebration included a significant procession in memory of Hristo Botev and those who died for the freedom of Bulgaria. It was held for the first time in Kazanlak and ended with laying of flowers in front of the monument of the revolutionary in the central park Rozarium.

"I don't need to convince you that these days the capital of Bulgaria is Kazanlak. The hospitable Kazanlak that welcomed so many guests with love. All with open hearts because Bulgaria is great. Our native valley is beautiful. There is room for everyone here, for people who love, who have fun, who can experiment and have the power to make their dreams come true," Kazanlak Mayor Galina Stoyanova said at the ceremony.

The ceremony on the first day of the Festival ended with a show dedicated to the Queen of Roses, chosen every year by the public.

Bulgaria is the largest producer of rose oil in the world. The species from which the oil can be refined is called Rosa Damascena (Damascus Rose). It is said to have been brought to Bulgaria from Syria by a Turkish judge settled in Kazanlak around the 13th century. It has a unique, sweet and very strong fragrance, the flowers are always pink.

With a tradition since 1903, the Kazanlak Rose Festival attracts thousands of tourists from Bulgaria, the Balkan states, as well as from other countries and continents, for which special tours are organized. Tourists can admire the folk costumes and traditional dances during the parade.

During the festival there is the Flower Parade and the Rose Dance, where the girls wear petal crowns, folk dress and a picking basket. Their dance is accompanied by traditional music, and at the end the Rose Queen is designated.

Lilia Grubîi, Bulgaria