Daily Times

Halfeti: To the naked eye, the delicate velvet roses in southeastern Turkey appear black and overwhelm the senses with their irresistible sweet smell.

The rosebuds are just as dark, and when fully developed, the flower takes on the colour of an intensely rich red wine.

These black roses, known as “Karagul” in Turkish and thornier than others, can only grow in the town of Halfeti with soil that has distinctive features including a special PH level.

The unique colour cannot be preserved elsewhere, experts say.

Now Halfeti’s residents want to transform the rose into a brand since Turkey’s rose sector is a blooming business.

The industry is currently dominated by the western province of Isparta, known as Turkey’s “rose garden”.

Today, Turkey and Bulgaria make up around 80 percent of the world’s rose oil production.

But Halfeti resident Devrim Tutus, 28, has already seen business flourish.

After coming up with a business plan to promote the black roses, he now supplies Istanbul with petals for colognes, Turkish delight and ice cream.

Demand is already outgrowing supply. That doesn’t stop Tutus who already has his next plan: Karagul wine.

“There’s a huge market out there in Istanbul. It’s all about Isparta roses. Why not the same here?” he said.