Morocco in bloom: harvest season in the Valley of the Roses - in pictures

The heady aroma of the Rosa Damascena, a variety introduced in the days of the caravan trade, perfumes hedges and fields in the kingdom's south

A rose in a field by the city of Kelaat M'Gouna in Morocco's Atlas Mountains. The heady aroma of the Rosa Damascena, a variety introduced in the days of the caravan trade, perfumes hedges and fields irrigated by two wadis between the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara. Everything revolves around roses: the names of hotels, the colour of taxis, cosmetics sold in countless shops, necklaces offered by children in the streets, a monument standing in Kelaat M'Gouna and its annual festival, which attracted thousands of visitors before Covid-19. AFP

A worker harvests roses in Kelaat M'Gouna, central Morocco. AFP

A worker harvests roses in a field by the city of Kelaat M'Gouna, central Morocco. AFP

A worker carries a sack of harvested roses in Kelaat M'Gouna, central Morocco. AFP

Workers sort roses in a house in the city of Kelaat M'Gouna in central Morocco's Tinghir province. AFP

A worker empties roses from a sack at a distillery in the city of Kelaat M'Gouna in central Morocco's Tinghir province in the Atlas Mountains. AFP

Workers carry sacks of roses harvested from a field by the city of Kelaat M'Gouna in Morocco's Tinghir province. AFP

A worker spreads rose petals outside a house in the city of Kelaat M'Gouna, Morocco. AFP

A worker spreads rose petals in Morocco's Tinghir Province in the Atlas Mountains. AFP

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