AP PHOTOS: The desert blooms, roses perfume the air and a Moroccan town comes to life

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Winners of the Miss Rose beauty pageant join a parade during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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A worker places roses in a copper tin before they’re boiled to produce rose products, in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Workers harvest roses in a farm during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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A view of the Middle Atlas town Kalaat M’Gouna where the annual Rose Festival takes place, Morocco, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Roses are dried on a rooftop during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Workers at a women cooperative that produces rose based products sort out harvested roses, in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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The winner of the Miss Rose beauty pageant joins a parade during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Traditional dancers join a parade during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Girls enjoy a ride at a fun fair during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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A taxi drives past a roundabout during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Rose products are on display during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Girls take part in a beauty pageant during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Winners of the Miss Rose beauty pageant salute the crowds during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Harvested roses are placed before they’re boiled to produce rose products during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M’Gouna, Morocco, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

By SAM METZ

KALAAT M’GOUNA, Morocco (AP) — Mild temperatures, steady sunlight and low humidity make the fields around the mountain town of Kalaat M’Gouna a perfect cradle for growing its signature flower: the Damask rose. Abundant precipitation and several desert downpours this year have bestowed Morocco with an exceptional yield of the flower, used for rosewater and rose oil. Pink and pungent, the roses are set to come in at 4,800 tons this year, a bloom far beyond the 2020-2023 average, according to the Regional Office for Agricultural Development, in nearby Ouarzazate.

The small town in the High Atlas mountains comes to life each year during the International Rose Festival, now in its 60th year. From the rose-shaped monuments at Kalaat M’Gouna’s entrances to the Pepto Bismol pink taxis, nearly everything here adheres to the theme.