Rose-picking usually starts at sunrise and wraps up before noon. Silvia Yonkova picks roses in her family's gardens in Osetenovo, Bulgaria. In the 17th century, a Turkish merchant brought the flower to Bulgaria, where it’s now unofficially called Rosa kazanlika, in honor of its breeding ground. The exact birthplace remains unknown: Many accounts trace it to Syria’s capital Damascus, while others reference ancient Persia in Iran. The most common oil-bearing rose found in the valley is the pink-petaled Damask rose ( Rosa damascena Mill). Today the roses’ edible, highly fragrant flowers are idolized as Bulgaria’s national symbol of pride, but economic pressures and changing climate make their future unclear.

Once known for making pistols, ammunition, and automatic weapons under Communism, now the region is famous as one of the world’s biggest sources of an oil likened to “liquid gold.” Rose oil earned the nickname for a reason: It takes more than 3,180 pounds of roses to produce just one pound of rose oil, valued between 3,468 and 6,000 dollars. Bulgaria’s Rose Valley stretches for about 87 miles across a narrow interval between the Balkan mountain range, dressing up in pink every May and June.

Golden rose harvesting farms