Saudi 'city of roses' offers fragrant reminder of desert's beauty

A man displays freshly collected Damascenas (Damask) roses, used to produce rose water and oil, at a farm in Saudi Arabia's western city of Taif, on April 9, 2025. Every spring, roses bloom in Taif, transforming pockets of the kingdom's vast desert landscape into fragrant pink patches. And for one month in April, they produce essential oil that is used in perfumes. [AFP]

After decades spent pruning thorny bushes and working arduous harvests, Khalaf Allah al-Talhi has perfected the art of capturing the fragrant aroma of the desert rose in a bottle. "I love roses and take care of them more than I care for my own children," the 80-year-old told AFP from his flower farm in western Saudi Arabia's Taif.

Known as "the city of roses", the hills of Taif produce around 300 million of the area's signature pink roses annually at 800 flower farms. By his own estimates, Talhi grows around five to six million of those.