Rose is considered as the queen of flowers in Iran, and locals treat this beautiful flower with special admiration and respect.
One of my stops in our Old Tehran Free Walking tour is a Cafe in the Jewish neighborhood of old Tehran, where we sit and refresh by drinking traditional Iranian beverages. My recommendation in summer is always the syrup of Rosewater and Saffron.
Iranians also named the Rose the Mohaamedi Flower, as prophet Mohamed liked that smell.
There is a special annual festival for extracting rosewater happening in May in Kashan and the neighboring cities of Qamsar & Neyasar. It is fabulous to watch the traditional process in traditional workshops. It is interesting to know that 75 percent of rose water is still produced in 730 traditional workshops.
Moreover, 10 minutes driving from Kashan, you reach a small city called Noushabad to visit OUI underground. In that city, special coffee, including different spices as well as rosewater, is served. The taste of that coffee, you cannot find anywhere around the world. I would always say that coffee has an Oriental aroma.
Rosewater plays an important role in the lifestyle of Iranians. Due to the anti-stress effect, normally, it is sprinkled into the air in our funeral and religious ceremonies. You always hear the smell of rosewater, especially in mosques or holy shrines.
We use it as one essence in cooking sweets, like Ferni (Persian rice pudding), Halva (a special dish for grieving time), and also Fallodeh (ice-noodle) and Persian ice cream.
Beauty secret of Iranian women: Iranian women use rosewater as a facial toner and cleanser.
So next time, as a reminder of your awesome trip to Iran, just add two or three drops of Rosewater to your coffee and enjoy the oriental taste.
Next post???? We talked about the role of saffron in Iran. Stay tuned with Persian Walk.
