What Is Damask Rose? The Rose Behind Rose Oil and Rose Water
Of the thousands of roses in the world, only a few are grown for their scent rather than their looks. The most famous is the Damask rose. Its name comes from Damascus, its scent has filled the Levant for centuries, and it is still picked by hand at dawn, one flower at a time.
What is Damask rose?
Damask rose (Rosa × damascena) is an old rose, loose and pink, with a deep, sweet fragrance. It is the rose behind most of the world’s rose oil and rose water. It isn’t grown for long stems or perfect petals. It’s grown for what’s inside them.
Named after Damascus
“Damask” simply means “of Damascus.” The rose has been grown across the Middle East since ancient times, and it reached Europe in the Middle Ages, traditionally said to have been carried home by returning Crusaders. Today it grows from Syria and Turkey to Bulgaria’s Rose Valley and Iran. It also grows in Madaba, Jordan, where the rose in our soap comes from.
In 2019, UNESCO recognized the traditions around the Damascene rose in the Syrian village of Al-Mrah as part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage. The roses are picked by families in May, then dried for tea, distilled, and made into syrups and jams.
Picked by hand at dawn
Damask roses are picked early in the morning, when their scent is strongest, and they have to be processed the same day. The harvest lasts only a few weeks a year.
It also takes a remarkable amount of flowers. Producing a single kilogram of rose oil takes around three tonnes of petals. That’s why real rose oil is one of the most precious ingredients in perfumery.
What does Damask rose smell like?
Rich, sweet and rounded, softer and deeper than a garden rose, with a faint honeyed warmth. It smells like a flower, not like perfume. That’s the difference between a real rose and a synthetic “rose fragrance.”
Rose in everyday life in the Levant
Across the region, rose isn’t a luxury. It’s part of daily life. Rose water goes into sweets and drinks, dried buds are steeped as tea, and rose is the scent of guest rooms and celebrations. It is one of the oldest everyday pleasures of the Levant.
Why KON
Our Damask Rose bar is one of only two bars in our range whose botanical is grown in Madaba itself. It’s made on the same base as every bar: olive oil pressed in the same town, scented only with natural essential oils, with no synthetic fragrance and no palm oil. Each bar is poured into its own mold and cured for four full weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Damask rose and regular roses?
Most roses sold as flowers are bred for looks and long stems, and many have little scent. Damask rose is an old variety grown for its fragrance, and it is the main rose used for rose oil and rose water.
Why is it called Damask rose?
“Damask” means “of Damascus,” the city long linked with the rose’s history in the Levant.
When are Damask roses harvested?
In late spring, usually May, over a few weeks. The flowers are picked by hand early in the morning, when their scent is strongest.
Why is rose oil so expensive?
It takes around three tonnes of hand-picked petals to make one kilogram of rose oil.
Where does the rose in KON’s soap come from?
Madaba, Jordan, the same town where our olive oil is pressed and our bars are made.