Kazanlak
It is called "the town of roses". The air here bears the fragrance of flowers. The vicinity of the town has been
turned into wonderful rich gardens where the world famous roses for extractng rose oil are grown. At a distance of 5km
from the town there are mineral springs. Not far away is situated the Kazanlak tomb wich is included in the list
UNESCO.
One of the most famous monuments of Thracian culture, included in the World Register of Historical Sites, in 1979, was
discovered in 1944. A corridor, 1.95 m in length, 1.12 m in width and 2.24 m in height leads to a domed tomb, 3.25 m
in height and 2.65 m in diameter at the base.The building material is brick, used two centuries later by the Romans.
The frame is of blocks of stone and clay is used as bonding material. It is situated in the southern part of a mound,
at ground level.
Bulgaria is one of the biggest producers of rose oil in the world. The reason for this is hidden in the high qualities
of the Bulgarian Kazanluk rose ("Kazanlashka roza"), a special type, that was cultivated in our country after many
years of production and development. The Bulgarian roses are inheritors of the so called Damascena rose, that was
brought here ages ago. The rose oil is called "the liquid gold" of Bulgaria, because it is a very expensive product,
used mainly for the making of perfumes, chocolates, liqueur and jam. The rose oil is 3 times more expensive than the
real gold. More than 2000 people are occupied in the harvest every year.
The period of the harvest lasts only 20-25 days. No other cultivation method has been able to preserve the character
of the rose almost unchanged for over three centuries. This fact explains why there were no attempts at cultivating
other rose varieties in the Rose valley near Kazanlak. It has established itself as a stable, independent type of
rose, differing in its anatomy and physiology from the oil-bearing roses cultivated elsewhere.
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