BAIT ASARH - DISTILLERIE DE ROSES

This traditional rosewater distillery has been owned by the Al-Tobi family for several generations and is based in the village of Saïq. It operates throughout the rose season and opens its doors to visitors, offering 2 different guided tours: the full tour which, in addition to exploring the distillery, includes a visit to the family's rose plantations and a demonstration of traditional rose-picking (approx. 50 minutes for the whole), or just a visit to the rose water factory (approx. 30 minutes). For the rest of the year, the visit is limited to an explanation of the manufacturing process, as the rose season is short-lived, lasting only until April.

Ammar, our guide for the day, explains that, during this very short but intense period, the roses have to be picked at dawn before their fragrance escapes under the action of the first rays. In this month of the year, it's already very hot in the Jabal Akdhar. It's a delicate and meticulous job, as the flower is fragile. Every morning, 6 members of the family pick around 50 kg of roses. The flowers are then taken back to the distillery, sorted, weighed and placed in special traditional baskets made from dried palm leaves to allow the roses to air out before being distilled. During these few hours, they are regularly sprayed with water to preserve their freshness. The roses are then placed in special jars fitted with 2 copper cups, one on the inside, the other on top to close the jar. The top cup is filled with water and, as soon as the fire is lit, the jar is placed on the oven. Keep an eye on it, and top up the water every 30 minutes or so. By condensation, after about 3 hours, the copper cup inside is filled with a mixture of water and rose oil, which must then be left to stand for 24 hours to separate the oil from the water. The recovered rosewater is then stored in a much larger jar for around forty days. This long phase allows the waste and impurities to sink to the bottom of the jar, helping to extract pure, high-quality water.

Every year, 1,000 liters of rosewater are produced here. The Bait Asarh factory is one of the last traditional distilleries in the sultanate, as the trend today is towards more modern distilleries using machines during the production process.

This rosewater is marketed in Oman for many purposes. It is used in cooking, for example to prepare halwa, a typical local dessert, or traditional Omani coffee. Applied directly to the head, it can soothe migraine headaches. It is also sold in parapharmacy for its many dermatological virtues and in cosmetics for its olfactory properties (perfumes).

The tour ends on the upper floor, where you can sit with your guide in one of two majilis delicately decorated with fresh or dried flowers, and enjoy rose halwa accompanied by a delicious rosewater coffee. This pleasant moment of exchange also provides an opportunity to try out the products made by the distillery - bottles of rose water, rose-scented Roll-On , oud and incense, etc.