Well I have not heard about the “City of Roses” until now. Apparently according to this article in abouther.com, Taif, KSA is this city!
Here is an excerpt from the article, “Take In The Sights And Scents Of Saudi Arabia’s City of Roses”, in abouther.com. The link to full article is below.
“Thanks to its favorable climate, Taif is home to nearly a thousand rose farms, with aromatic blossoms stretching from Wadi Mahram to Al-Hada. This is perhaps why the city is no stranger to festivals themed around roses! Every spring, farmers head to the fields to harvest beautiful rose petals, which are then taken to factories for extraction, producing favorites such as rose water and rose oil. It is even said that Taif’s roses were a favorite of King Khalid bin Abdulaziz, who in the 1970s and 80s would buy rose oil for the whole season.
In fact, Saudi Arabia is said to produce some of the world’s most expensive rose oil, which is used to make signature perfumes by brands such as Givenchy, Chanel, and Jimmy Choo. According to Perfumesociety.com, that is because the Taif rose is “beloved for its deep fragrance – which is even more intense than the better-known Damask rose to which it’s related. It also gives hints of tea alongside the soft powderiness.”’
Date Palms & Camels 