At dawn, after the first morning prayer, the residents join the rose gardens. The harvest, which begins in spring, at the end of March, beginning of April, has been done by hand since the dawn of time.

“Rosa damascena” is the Latin name for the Damask rose. It is the queen of roses from Syria. Those that blossom in Jebel Akhdar (the green mountain) are renowned throughout the Middle East for their exceptional fragrance quality.