Chamomile Harvest Season Opens in Egypt

 
A bee forages in the Botanical Garden in Munich, Germany, on October 4, 2017. dpa/AFP/Sven Hoppe
A bee forages in the Botanical Garden in Munich, Germany, on October 4, 2017. dpa/AFP/Sven Hoppe
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Chamomile Harvest Season Opens in Egypt

 
A bee forages in the Botanical Garden in Munich, Germany, on October 4, 2017. dpa/AFP/Sven Hoppe
A bee forages in the Botanical Garden in Munich, Germany, on October 4, 2017. dpa/AFP/Sven Hoppe

Chamomile tea is one of the healthiest, most favored herbal teas with many benefits, which makes it popular in different cultures. During the chamomile harvest season in Egypt, considered among the top growers and exporters of chamomile in the Arab world, local farmers and photographers show great interest in documenting the picking of these small flowers also known as ‘little suns’.

The chamomile harvest season in Egypt starts in March, luring fans from across the country, mainly photographers who flock to capture the vivid colors of chamomile and the fatigue of pickers.

The harvest is made with soft hands, as women and girls are often responsible for this task. Looking like bees floating around the flowers in the fields, these harvesters offer visitors an ambiance of fun, seriousness, and hard work. The season runs until the end of April.

“I was eager to take photos of them because I really respect their struggle. Every little girl collects five to 20 kilograms of chamomile every day and sell the kilogram for $2 only ($1=15.6 Egyptian pound), which means they make around 12 to 20 Egyptian pound per day. It’s a low pay for the hard work they do,” photographer Sahl Abdul Rahman told Asharq Al Awsat.

“Around 80,000 acres of medical and aromatic plants are grown in Egypt. We are among the top producers of these small flowers thanks to our country’s hospitable climate and soil,” Engineer Adel al-Akhras, assistant director of agriculture department at the Azhar Park, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Egypt ranks among the largest exporters of chamomile. The European Union is the biggest importer, its member states buy 70 percent of the Egyptian chamomile production, followed by the United States, and several Asian countries. Egypt is also a large exporter of Artemisia, which helps bring foreign currency and create job opportunities in the country. Medical and aromatic plants can also be dried and used as raw material to produce herbs, oils, or pastes.



Spain Foreign Tourist Numbers Break Record in Early 2025

FILE PHOTO: Tourists tour along the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) on a hot summer day in Ronda, Spain July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists tour along the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) on a hot summer day in Ronda, Spain July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
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Spain Foreign Tourist Numbers Break Record in Early 2025

FILE PHOTO: Tourists tour along the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) on a hot summer day in Ronda, Spain July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists tour along the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) on a hot summer day in Ronda, Spain July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo

Spain welcomed a record 17 million foreign tourists in the first three months of 2025 as the buoyant sector drives an economy outshining European peers, official data showed on Monday.

The 17.1 million foreign tourists arriving in Spain from January to March was a 5.7-percent increase on the same period in 2024, the National Statistics Institute said.

Britain, France and Germany supplied the most holidaymakers to the world's second most-visited country, which last year hosted a record 94 million foreign tourists seeking its sun, beaches and culture, AFP reported.

Spending by foreign tourists also climbed 7.2 percent to 23.5 billion euros ($26.7 billion), the tourism ministry said in a statement, a welcome development for the government which wants visitors to splash more cash during their stay.

The tourist sector was one of the drivers of Spain's standout growth of 3.2 percent in 2024, well above the EU figure of one percent.

But the bonanza has sparked a growing backlash among locals who complain that an unsustainable influx of foreign visitors is driving up rents, saturating infrastructure and changing the fabric of neighborhoods.

Spain aims to "diversify" destinations, make the sector less dependent on key seasons and "share out the benefits" across the country, Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said in a statement.