Every spring, an idyllic Iranian town turns fields of roses into rose water

Ancient cypress trees, 20,000-year-old seawater, and hogs head cheese. Email not displaying correctly? View in your browser. June 03, 2019 Rose Water From late May to the middle of June, Qamsar, Iran, becomes a dazzling canvas of pink Mohammadi roses, which are used to make rose water. The resulting culinary and therapeutic extract has been used in Iran and the Middle East since ancient times and has no signs of slowing down. Read More → Ancient Cypress Trees New research suggests that some bald cypress trees along North Carolina’s Black River are more than 2,000 years old, which is more ancient than previously thought. Read more → Racism vs. Satire In the 1950s and early 1960s, public opposition to white supremacy was rare and dangerous. But a small group on and around the University of Mississippi, which included William Faulkner, took to clandestine newspapers, using satire and art to voice their opposition. Read more → Some moths are bonkers. I saw an atlas moth a few years ago at a butterfly preserve and it blew my mind. They’re basically bird/bugs. —tralfamadore Join the conversation → Found: Ice Age Seawater A team of researchers recently discovered what appears to be 20,000-year-old water left over from the Ice Age inside a sediment core from the Maldives. Read more → TALLINN, ESTONIA Danse Macabre Only a 25-foot-long fragment of the 15th-century Tallinn Dance of Death painting has survived the centuries. The original painting is thought to have been almost 100 feet long and included about 50 figures lined up according to social status, dancing next to skeletal figures. Read more → DHAKA, BANGLADESH Pink Palace This colorful palace is an oasis of calm amid the hustle and bustle of the Buringa riverfront. A reminder of Bangladesh’s colonial past, the palace’s Western architecture incorporates elements of affluent 18th- and 19th-century Mughal design. Read more → Food & Drink Hog’s Head Cheese Once a deli and butcher shop staple in southern Louisiana, this dairy-free “cheese” made of boiled scraps of pig is becoming a rare commodity. Read more → Visit AtlasObscura.com · View in Browser · Unsubscribe · See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222