Give a rose, this is how the people of Kelaat M'Gouna, small town in the Dades Valley to 90 Kms from the city of Ouarzazate in southern Morocco, express their joy to thousands of national and international visitors who attend the Rose Festival held in early May each year. While wearing pink necklaces offered in welcome by small children at the entrance of the city, these visitors discover the beauty of the region and its rich heritage, and are amazed by the various shows and especially that Ahidous of M'gouna.
The Rose festival attracts every year the second weekend of May, thousands of visitors who come to enjoy the program of folk songs and dances, shows and a craft sale. It is a kind of festival of colors, under a shower of petals, where the color of flowers marry those of spices and perfums. In the middle of this stunning atmospher Miss Rose is elected.
Rose water, treasure of Kelaat M'Gouna
The oral legend said that Rosa Damascena has been reported in the tenth century when a group of Berber pilgrims returning from Mecca, was impressed by the beauty and fragrance of this flower. They brought some roses and replanted in the area of Kelaat M'Gouna. Some seed fell on the road, have sprouted and bloomed to give these beautiful roses that perfume, beautify and are now the reputation of this part of the High Atlas, became the Rose Valley.
The Rose Valley became the land of Red and Pink, inspiring moroccan craftsmen specially those working on leather and textile.
