Photo: IC

Lavender, basil and roses: aromatic plants are being cultivated in Cyprus to broaden the island's sun-and-sea appeal and regain a lofty botanical status dating back to Roman times.

From sunrise in the village of Agros, 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) above sea level in the Troodos mountain range, Andria Tsolakis, her younger sister Elena and their mother Maria busy themselves among their rose bushes.

In the crisp morning air, they gather the Damask roses for which Agros and the family are famed.

For more than seven decades, the Tsolakis family has cultivated the pink rose of Syrian origin they say first cropped up mysteriously at the foot of the village church. From the precious harvest, they extract rose water and oils used in cooking and cosmetics.