volatile solvents.
(The Living 1968:98-100).
Let us examine the very procedure of one of the afore-mentioned processes.
'DISTILLATION
The simplest and oldest form of extraction, possibly introduced by the ancient Arabs, is by distillation. The flowers, leaves, or other materials are boiled in a closed retort and the essential oil is carried off with the steam and condensed. When this part of the process has been completed, the mixture of essence and water is left to stand; the oil, being lighter, comes to the top and is separated off. Distillation is very suitable for plants rich in essential oil, such as lavender and mint. It is also used for some flowers but is useless for others whose perfume is spoiled by heat. In the old days the operation was carried out over an open fire, a method still used in some areas where perfumery is still more or less a peasant industry, but nowadays it is more usual to pass steam from a separate boiler through the plant material to the condenser. A trace of perfume often remains in the water resulting from the condensation, and this is sold as rose water and the like.'
(The Living 1968:98).
A very fine brand rose oil name is Sofia (Greek: 'Wisdom'; cf. the famous Hagia Sofia [Greek: 'The D-vine Wisdom' shrine] in Constantinople-Istanbul). It is made in Bulgaria, whose present-day capital city bears the same name as the product itself. The oil has got a very intense smell, like many kinds of Eastern fragrance. The cosmetic is kept in little narrow bottles of glass, which are put into an ornamental wooden container. The cover is like that of top class Cuban cigars. These are packed into medium-sized boxes of cedar wood, that filled the Lebanese landscape in the Biblical times.
A kind of natural incense sticks, whose major component is rose, I managed to find in some European and Middle Eastern shops with goods imported from India. Those sticks have got the most intense smell of incense I know, and as an aromotherapy enthusiast, I have tried many types of incense so far.
Whether to endow an odd or even number of roses upon a person we cherish is also an arbitrary cultural custom, depends on a local culture. The prevailing custom in Europe, for instance, is to give one, three, or another odd number, or the number of years equal to the person's age. And whenever your birthday comes may you hear from your beloved one's mouth: 'Many rosy returns of the day!'.
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