Roses of Agros

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Roses are one of the most famous of all garden shrubs throughout history. Humans have historically loved and valued the Rose, usually used it as a symbol of love, affection, beauty, war and politics. Documents have shown that many early civilizations including Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans and Phoenicians used the rose in their everyday life and even cultivated the flower as early as 5,000 years ago.

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The story begins at the end of the 18th century in Agros, a small village in the mountains of Cyprus, one among the many of the Troodos mountains. After a disease spread across the island, some of the few survivors had moved in the village of Agros. The tradition of the rose begun later on, in the beginning of the 20th century, with the initiative of a teacher of the village, Nearchos Clerides. He encouraged the citizens of Agros to cultivate these flowers, because it was a very prosperous for the village. The village of Agros was the first village that started this tradition, because they were the first ones who saw the financial potential in the rose. And in return, he was offering financial rewards. Hence, Nearchos Clerides, was the father of the rose tradition and managed to contribute towards the establishment of rose as a tradition in the village and its financial potential. This tradition thus has turned into a business and it has been established in Agros for more than 150 years. Nowadays, the village celebrates the successful tradition of the cultivation of roses every year and produces a variety of products with the aroma of the specific rose that comes from the village called Damask Rose. Specifically, for about 10 years, the village has started a rose festival which takes place each year during the blooming season of the roses, with the aim of contributing to the continuation of this tradition in Cyprus and the village of Agros.

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The festival, known as the Rose Festival, gathers together businesses and people from the village to sell their rose products. Food, music, traditional dances, handmade products and the sweet smell of roses surround the streets of Agros. The variety of the products that you can find is endless; among them, rose water and liquor, rose sweets, beauty products, perfumes and marmalade.

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We gathered as much information as possible about the festival, from both locals and visitors, with the aim of sharing those findings with everyone who might be interested. We recorded the handmade production of some traditional products like rose water and we interviewed some of the local businesses of the village dealing for years with this tradition. Also, we organized a trip to Agros with the aim to engage young people from the local community of Cyprus in a tour and rose tasting to witness and learn themselves, how rose has been established as a tradition, about the rose production and contribute towards the preservation of it from generation to generation. Participants had the opportunity to visit some of the factories that produce rose products and spend a wonderful day in the village. You can find more pictures and our interviews below.

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