Isparta's history with rose growing is not very old. It has a history dating back to 150 years at most. While rose cultivation was not yet known in Isparta, rose cultivation was being done in Burdur, Denizli and Çal regions.
Ismail Efendi, the son of Meydanbeyoğlu Mehmet İzzetin, who came from Yalvaç district and settled in Isparta, brought rose cultivation to Isparta. İsmail Efendi, who received a good madrasah education, educated himself as an open-minded person who constantly improved himself. Gülcüzade İsmail Efendi's first commercial venture was weaving, and thanks to the weaving looms he established with the information he received from various masters, he ensured that this profession spread rapidly around Isparta and Burdur and many people learnt this profession. In 1889, when he learnt that a land registry officer who came to Çal district of Denizli from Kızanlık region of Bulgaria could obtain oil from rose flowers, he exchanged letters with this person and had extensive information on rose cultivation.
source: ktb.gov.tr
