Damascene Rose Harvest Festival is launched in countryside of Aleppo

The activities of the Damascene Rose Harvest Festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture – Directorate of Intangible Heritage and the Directorate of Culture in Aleppo, began on Saturday in the village of Al-Nairab in the countryside of Aleppo. The festival was held amidst social rituals that relate to the farmers, through which they expressed their joy in harvesting the roses that decorated their fields.

Head of Culture Directorate in Aleppo, Jaber Al-Sajour, underlined in a statement to SANA reporter the importance of celebrating the harvest of the Damascene rose, which was included on the UNESCO list of intangible human heritage, and caring for it by encouraging its cultivation in various regions of Syria, especially in places where its cultivation is successful. He noted its benefits and the medical, cosmetic, pharmaceutical products  and perfume extracted from it.

Al-Sajour pointed out that the festival is rich in various cultural and social events, as it witnesses the holding of a scientific symposium with the participation of a number of researchers, who talk about the value of the Damascene rose and its various products of food and medicinal materials.  The festival is also accompanied by holding an exhibition that sheds light on the scientific and economic benefits to the farmers working on its production, the social and economic stability it achieves for them, and its positive repercussions on the environment.

Representative of the local community of the village of al-Nairab, Mahmoud Sharafu, spoke about the people’s interest in planting and caring for the Damascene rose, because of its economic returns and its social impact in improving their living conditions.

Director of the cultural center in the village of Nairab, Qassem Sharout, said: The festival of picking the Damascene rose in its season is a state of joy and happiness for the farmers, who have been keen to take care of this crop for a year. He noted that its cultivation constitutes 30 to 40 percent of the agricultural lands, and harvesting the crop has become a heritage that is celebrated annually. This crop is used in the manufacture of jams and medicinal uses, while the remaining part is marketed in the local markets.

The farmer, Abu Ali Sharafou, said: He owns a field planted with the Damascene rose on an area of four dunums. He is keen throughout the year to take care of his rose bushes, watering and pruning them, so that the day of harvest comes, when he rushes with his family members to harvest the crop on a daily basis. He pointed out that the cultivated areas in the village of Nairab with the Damascene rose to reach about 22 hectares.

Inas Abdulkareem