Qamsari rosewater is a source of national pride in Iran. Once a year a ton of the fragrance is taken to Mecca to wash down the Kaaba, the focal point of Muslim pilgrimage.

Visitors from across the Islamic Republic flood into the dusty town to pluck the garish pink Mohammadi roses and stock up on rosewater, sold to them as a panacea for ailments they never knew they had.

Retired engineer Jafar Ghodesh, on a day trip from Tehran, swears by it.

"I come every five years or so. It does you wonders," he explained, clutching a couple of clinking carrier bags stuffed with bottles of Qamsar's leading commodity.

Most Iranian flower pickers dry the rose petals as potpourri or to sprinkle on yogurt.

"The roses from here, Markazi province, are just the best there are," said Zohre, a young woman from Tehran, bruising a petal between her forefinger and thumb.

SPOONFUL OF ROSEWATER

Iranian rosewater is a cheap food flavoring and curative.

Chefs sprinkle it over rice, and one of the country's favorite summer snacks, faloudeh, is a noodle sorbet peppered with pistachio nuts and drenched in glycerin rosewater.

Inside tents, foyers and shops the Qamsaris convince visitors that a spoonful of rosewater will sort out their heart murmur and a splash on the hands will cure their eczema.

Massoud Dadjou, managing director of a small family firm selling rosewater, said about 20 percent of his produce was bought for religious ceremonies. "That's for sprinkling on tombs mainly," he said.

Mosques have rosewater sprinklers, often of ornate metalwork, to combat musty interiors on hot days.

Dadjou said he had branched out into new types of tonics.

Chicory water will fix sleeplessness and nervous disorders while fenugreek will douse a fever. Caraway water is good for fortifying the red blood cells. Or so say all the bottles.

HARD TO COMPETE

The business has problems, said Mohammad Reza Dadjou, Massoud's son. He said that new technologies could extract 200 grams of essence from a ton of petals, while small-time makers could extract only half of that.

"The market is not good because at some centers they add geranium essence as an artificial scent," said Mohammad Reza, adding producers could sell geranium-diluted rosewater for about nine dollars a bottle. The same amount of pure rosewater would cost $20.

"Good rosewater reveals itself when used. With geranium essence, if you leave the door open the scent disperses after a while. But the smell of fine rosewater lingers even after washing the container," he said.

Father and son agreed their greatest challenge was trying to market their product in a small town where trade was divided between dozens of small family businesses.

The bigger enterprises in town buy up rosewater for export, competing with Bulgaria, one of the world's leading producers of rose oil.

The Dadjous said a kilo of rose oil, the other product of the distillation process, would sell for about $1,200 in Iran but fetch $6,000 to $7,000 in European perfumeries.