Four-generation rose tradition goes global from Sagalassos
The Ertaş family, living in the district of Ağlasun in Burdur, near the foothills of the ancient city of Sagalassos, has transformed a rose oil and rose water production tradition inherited from their ancestors into a modern enterprise reaching international markets.
The family continues the production of rose water and rose oil that began in the 1930s by their great-grandfather Mehmet Ali Ertaş, who processed roses in copper cauldrons over wood fire. Today, the fourth generation carries on the tradition in modern facilities.
Fourth-generation rose producer and agricultural engineer Sefa Ertaş said the family business was passed down through generations, from his great-grandfather to his grandfather and father, and now to him and his brothers.
He noted that the family, which has long earned a living from natural rose oil production as a key raw material for the cosmetics industry, has expanded into 21 different products under its own brand.
