A holiday in the kingdom of roses

Georgie Georgiev, VisitBulgaria.NET, 6th June 2007

Once upon a time, in a time which no one remembers any more, in a distant country, called Persia, a powerful shah ruled. His beloved wife died, but granted him, his biggest wealth – his lovely daughter, who loved her father more than anything in the world and took care of the endless rose garden. After a glorious battle the shah decided to mark his triumph in a grandiose manner. He wanted to build a mosque so high, that the whole valley could be seen from its minaret. No one from the masons in the kingdom dared to try the audacious work, because the anger of the ruler was tremendous. Just one stranger from Bulgaria decided to try his luck. He started the great construction, but felt his strengths diminish. Right on the first day he managed to raise a high wall, which reviled magnificent view towards the garden, and the rose aroma reached his senses. This work gave him unsuspected strengths and he continued placing stone over stone during the whole night. When in the morning the sun rose, the young man managed to see the whole garden and right in the middle he noticed the exquisite young daughter of the shah, who picked up the rose blossom and softly sang.

Than the young man became even more determined to complete his work, as he already knew what would be the praise he would ask from the ruler. The brave mason was not missed from the sight of the girl and stayed forever in her heart. On the third day the mosque was ready and the time for the reward came. However, when the young man asked the hand of the exquisite girl, the shah was driven mad and threw the young man in dungeon. But the daughter already stopped recognizing her father’s will. She let out the young man from jail during the night and ran away to his country. She only took one single rose shrub to remind her of her motherland. However the way turned out to be too heard for the fragile girl and her strengths left her.

She gave the rose shrub to the young Bulgarian and told him to plant it in his country, in the name of their love and than perished. The crushed youth came back in Bulgaria and planted the regal plant in a beautiful valley right in the heart of the country.

Today this valley, between Karlovo and Kazanlak towns is called the Valley of Roses and every year at the beginning of June the legends come true right here on spot. A one of a kind event takes place annually, and I had the unique chance to participate- the Rose festival. Festive processions, folklore festivals, concerts and ceremonies for the coronation of a queen of the rose takes place in both towns. The two girls are chosen several days before the official celebrations and are the central attraction of the ceremonies. They are a personification of the tender flower, which found its second motherland in Bulgaria and turned the country into a worldwide leader in the production of rose oil. That is why people here officially celebrate the rose and her gifts.

For me the fest stared on the 1st of June, the moment I left Sofia. It took me almost a day to take the distance of 250 km to Kazanlak, as I stopped in every single town and hamlet along my way in this charming valley. I started from Sopot, the town of the patriarch of the Bulgarian literature, Ivan Vazov and a town toward which I have a special attitude, because of the centre for extreme sports. I passed through Karlovo, where the apostle of liberty Vasil Levski was born and than Kalofer, the home town of the revolutionary poet Hristo Botev. The atmosphere in these pretty towns is unique and it looks logical that so many great personalities were born here.

In the afternoon I reached Kazanlak, which welcomed me with a festive concert for 1st June the day of the child. Young kids from all over Bulgaria, as well as guests from Russia and Macedonia entertained children and adults on the scene on Sevastopol square. There was enough time until the coronation of the queen rose and I made a fast stroll around the town. I don’t know whether, because of the holiday or for the town itself, but the cultural monuments here, were somehow vanishing compared to the excitement and the general enthusiasm of people, which ruled in Kazanlak.

Otherwise a lot could be seen in the town: the ethnographic complex “Kulata”, where among the architectural monuments cosy hotels and mehanas in incredible local style are situated; the Kazanlak Thomb, and right next to rises its the precise copy with the unique wall paintings “The Circle of Life”. It has great value and is a proof for the rich cultural development of the Thracians. I was very sorry to discover that it was already too late for a visit in the Historical museum. I knew that this was the site where I could find more about Kazanlak and the valley, ever since ancient times. After I deprived myself from the opportunity to get more information from the prime source, I continued on gathering impressions from the town, while in the end I was dragged by the crowd that took me to the central square.

The gala spectacle with the special participation of the ensemble of Neshka Robeva started. I doubt that there was a better way to extract the essence of Kazanlak, the Rose valley and Bulgaria than the art of those boys and girls. The unique mixture of National dances, gymnastics and acrobatic, made the audience hold breath and stand in silence. I think that even the tourists from the Far East, Italy, France, Russia, Canada and anywhere, felt very strongly what Bulgaria is, better than all tourism brochures and information sheets. The queen of roses 2007 – the 19 year old Lora Georgieva stood in the heart of the event. The spectacle ended with an official fireworks and I am sure that those who attended the event will long afterwards remember it - at least until next year. Later in the evening I started to Karlovo, where I had a room in a local hotel. I reached it after midnight and almost immediately fell asleep.

The new day greeted me with sun and mountain coolness. I managed to prepare myself quickly, went out of the hotel and stared towards the “Rose gardens”, one kilometer away from the town. The ritual of the rose picking was planned in the site. The experience was more than I expected. I was literally welcomed in the kingdom of rose. Their queen was not less attractive than the ruler of the neighboring kingdom in Kazanlak. In Karlvo the prestigious title was given to the 19 years old Marieta Nikolova. She was sitting in her throne among the rose fields, shined by the morning sun. Folklore ensembles, mummers danced and young girls in traditional national costumes picked up the rose blossoms.

After the queen of roses welcomed the guests in her kingdom and bequeath them to carry the love and kindness of this beautiful region together with the rose, the procession moved towards the centre of the town. The mayor of Karlovo, Mr. Emil Kabaivanov, officially handed the golden rose to the queen of roses. The golden rose was created several years ago and is symbol of the town. 32 years it was kept in a bank safe and from this year on the queen of roses will hand it to her inheritor.

The time for me came to leave the Rose valley, but I can say that it will never leave me. Probably I took a piece of this rose shrub, which centuries ago crossed mountains and deserts to turn into a symbol of love, ingenuity and to become an inseparable part of Bulgaria.

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