Turkish rose smells rich, spicy and honeyed, with a lemony top and a classical floral heart. It is the sister to Bulgarian rose, sharing the same species but grown on different soil and distilled under slightly different conditions.
The flower is Rosa damascena, cultivated since the sixteenth century around the city of Isparta in southern Anatolia, where it thrives in the mountain climate. Turkey is one of the two largest producers of rose otto in the world alongside Bulgaria. Petals are harvested by hand before sunrise between late May and early June and steam-distilled the same day. The resulting oil carries slightly more body and spice than Bulgarian otto, with a similar price tag: roughly four tonnes of petals yield a single kilogram.
Turkish rose is a heart note and a classical signature. Perfumers use it as the soul of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean compositions, alongside oud, saffron and agarwood, and in Western niche work where authentic rose character is prized.
Turkish rose performs beautifully across the year, reading deepest in winter and evening wear.
