Morocco Rose Festival: the land of red and pink
Indeed, I wouldn’t have come to Ouarzazate had it not been for an encounter
with perfumer Linda Pilkington. The founder of London’s opulent Ormonde
Jayne perfumery, Linda scours the globe for rare ingredients with which to
blend her exotic scents, tracking down small-scale producers of black irises
in Jordan, heady champaca flowers in India’s Indus Valley – and
sweet-smelling roses in Morocco. Inspired by Pilkington’s tales of
rose-hunting in the Atlas and the region’s intriguing-sounding Rose
Festival, which takes place early each May in the “capital” of the Valley of
Roses, El Kelaa M’Gouna, I had booked my flight to Ouarzazate.
Photo: Ian Cumming
Given my horticultural intentions for the trip, I had been thrilled to
discover that the celebrated French garden designer Louis Benech (whose
projects include the gardens of Versailles Palace, Paris’s Élysée Gardens
and Pavlovsk’s rose pavilion in St Petersburg) had created the gardens of
Dar Ahlam Kasbah, a nine-suite, three-villa hotel squirrelled away in the
palmerie of Skoura, a village in the “Valley of 1,000 Kasbahs”, between
Ouarzazate and the Valley of Roses. Exploring the grounds was a delight:
500-year-old olive trees shaded lines of irises, a small rose garden was a
riot of colour and scent, ancient palm trees swayed gently above the large
pool, and burbling streams watered a herb garden.
Meals are served whenever guests wish at Dar Ahlam, in varied, secluded and
impossibly picturesque locations – breakfast might be taken at a
petal-strewn table by the pool, lunch enjoyed while reclining on day beds
under the dappled light of an olive grove, and dinner savoured à deux in a
courtyard garden, lit by countless candles.
Wrenching myself from this idyll, I went in search of the Rose Festival.
Driving through flat, arid desert, it was hard to imagine I was about to
discover the seas of Persian roses described by Pilkington. However, as I
approached El Kelaa M’Gouna, named after the river that feeds the Valley of
Roses, the road became flanked by rose-studded hedgerows and children
selling heart-shaped decorations and garlands fashioned from rose petals.
Photo: Ian Cumming
El Kelaa M’Gouna itself was humming with excitement and brimming with people.
Dating from the late Thirties, when the French opened the valley’s first
distilleries, the festival celebrates the annual harvest with exuberant
displays of Berber singing, dancing and sword-fighting, along with the
coronation of a Rose Queen in a packed open-air stadium.
The streets of the town were equally busy, with hundreds of stalls selling
everything from babouche slippers and silver jewellery to saffron and ice
cream served in bright green, pink or orange cones. It had the air of a
village fete, albeit a rather chaotic one, with men strolling around with
roses tucked behind their ears and women wearing rose garlands on their
heads. Although few of the street vendors were selling rose products, a
dozen permanent “Boutiques des Roses” offered a dazzling array of violently
pink soaps, gels, creams, sprays and oils, and mountains of dried rose buds.
Abandoning the festival, I drove deeper into the Valley of Roses to find the
Kasbah des Roses co-operative, to learn about the work involved in creating
the highly valuable rose oil (a teaspoon of pure rose oil costs about £70)
using the traditional method of steam distillation.
Having watched Sarah fork through a vast heap of freshly harvested rose
petals, separating the petals intended for distillation, I followed the maze
of paths that linked the small squares of roses, gladiolus and poppies that
carpet the M’Goun wadi. Pilkington was spot on with her description of
Morocco’s Damask roses as “really rather scruffy and frayed around the
edges” – much like sweeter-smelling old English roses, they were endearingly
shabby.
All too soon, my time in Ouarzazate’s valleys of roses, kasbahs, olive groves
and orange trees was over. Keen to enjoy a couple of days in Marrakesh
before returning home, I embarked on the scenic, 125-mile drive there,
passing barren desert, sleepy Berber villages and grazing camels and
navigating the switchbacks of the spectacular Tichka Pass into
lavender-lined gorges and fertile terraced hills.
Upon arrival in the city, I retreated to that most iconic of North African
hotels, La Mamounia. Sipping a glass of mint tea in the Menzeh folly, in the
tranquillity of the hotel’s 20-acre gardens, I caught the scent of delicate
white and pink roses, rambling up the gnarled trunks of 700-year-old olives.
I found myself thinking of Pilkington, who stayed here 10 years ago, flushed
with success after tracking down a rose-oil producer for her new scent,
Tolu. To travel the world hunting rare flowers, spices, seeds and berries,
and to bottle those scents for others to savour, is a rare and enviable
skill.
And one I’ll have to rely on now, by inhaling a spritz of Tolu, to whisk me
back to the fragrant foothills of the Atlas Mountains.
Getting there
Royal Air Maroc (royalairmaroc.com)
offers return London-to-Marrakesh flights from £280 and to Ouarzazate, via
Casablanca, from £255.
This year’s Rose Festival runs from May 8-10.
For more information about travelling to Morocco, contact the Moroccan
National Tourist Office (020 7437 0073; visitmorocco.com).
Packages
Mr Mrs Smith (0845 034 0700; mrandmrssmith.com)
can create a bespoke Moroccan itinerary. A three-night stay in a double room
at Dar Ahlam for two people (including full board, transfers and
excursions), plus two nights at La Mamounia, costs from £2,975.
The inside track
Dar Ahlam Kasbah arranges Ouarzazate airport transfers and will provide a
driver for excursions. However, if you need a driver to or from Marrakesh,
Hicham Bachar (00212 667 236718; h.bachartour@gmail.com)
is good, and also offers 4WD desert excursions.
If you suffer from car sickness, bring something for the spectacular but
winding drive between Ouarzazate and Marrakesh.
Visit the Aït Benhaddou Kasbah while you’re in Ouarzazate. The fortified
17th-century “ksar” is one of southern Morocco’s finest examples of
traditional pre-Saharan earthen construction techniques.
Stock up on spices, Berber mint tea, saffron and amber (a fragrant moth
deterrent) in Marrakesh at a herboriste, or Berber pharmacy, on Rahba Kedima
square.
Stroll Marrakesh’s Jardin Majorelle, the Mamounia gardens, the rose gardens of
Koutoubia Mosque and Menara gardens.
The best hotels
Kasbah des Roses, Hdida £
This basic, seven-bedroom property is in Hdida, about 10 miles from El Kelaa
M’Gouna, and offers an authentic Berber family-hosted experience (00212 661
935025; kasbahdesroses.com;
from £18 per person per night half board and £21 per person per night full
board).
La Mamounia, Marrakesh (pictured above) £££
This is one of the world’s most iconic hotels, and the preferred haunt of
Winston Churchill for good reason: La Mamounia is the ultimate sanctuary
from Marrakesh’s busy medina, with its tranquil gardens, attentive staff,
sumptuous rooms, divine spa and superb (Michelin-starred) restaurants (524
388600; mamounia.com;
doubles from £456 per night).
Dar Ahlam Kasbah, Skoura £££
A beautifully renovated and extended kasbah in the heart of the Skoura
palmerie. With nine suites and three villas, this is boutique luxury at its
best, with all meals, house wines, airport transfers and excursions part of
the exemplary and discreet service (mrandmrssmith.com;
0845 034 0700; all-inclusive double rooms from £695).
The best restaurants
Café Snack Rahba Kedima, Marrakesh £
Rooftop cafés abound in Marrakesh but this one boasts particularly attentive
service, tasty food, views over the spice market square from the second
floor and sweeping views of the medina and Atlas Mountains from the top
terrace (Rahba Kedima 168; 661 165228).
Bleu d’Orange, Marrakesh ££
The exuberant passion and talent of young Italian chef Francesco Montano has
placed this restaurant on Marrakesh’s hot list. Montano sources local
produce with which to create dishes that combine the best of Moroccan and
Italian flavours, such as seafood ravioli with mint and zucchini and
Milanese osso bucco with saffron risotto (Four Seasons Hotel, 1 boulevard de
la Menara; 524 359200).
Le Marocain at La Mamounia, Marrakesh £££
Tucked away in its own riad in La Mamounia’s gardens, Le Marocain offers a
wide selection of traditional local dishes, served on a balmy terrace or
surrounded by the mosaics and fountains of the ground floor. Go for the
five-course menu traditionnel for a feast of Moroccan flavours, such as
succulent chicken tagine with preserved lemons and lamb shoulder confit
(La Mamounia, avenue Bab Jdid 40; 524 388600).
