The soil holds the memory of thousands of years. Some trees that do more than just take root; they nurture time, patience and civilization. The olive tree is surely one of them. The odyssey of the olive is akin to an epic poem traversing the ages.
Olive is a culture in its own right. It is a cultural heritage that is gifted to humanity. Since 2023, traditional olive cultivation has been inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The file name is “Traditional Knowledge, Methods and Practices Concerning Olive Cultivation,” and Türkiye became the first and only country to register olive culture in all its dimensions as cultural heritage. This recognition should be viewed as a universal commitment to preserving a millennia-old culture embedded in humanity’s collective memory, not merely as a registration on behalf of Türkiye. We are not only part of this deep-rooted heritage but also its guardians, responsible for carrying this legacy forward.
Leading olive oil–producing countries are located in the Mediterranean basin. Over the past three years, Türkiye has surpassed Italy to become the world’s second-largest producer of olives, behind only Spain. Last week, the future of traditional olive cultivation in Türkiye was discussed in Akhisar, Manisa — a place that, in a sense, serves as the heart of both the olive cultivation and olive oil production in the country. “The Traditional Olive Cultivation Workshop,” organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, brought together a wide range of olive-related stakeholders to chart a roadmap for passing on the millennia-old olive culture on to future generations.
Traditional Olive Culture
Olive cultivation is not just about agriculture. The olive also represents a rich culture that encompasses diverse aspects of social life. Viewing the olive tree solely as a source of olives and olive oil falls short. There is an incredibly immense culture that has evolved around the olive tree. It all starts with the wild olive, known as the “delice,” which grows naturally on its own in the wilderness. Cultivating the wild olive through grafting — essentially domesticating it — is an agricultural tradition that humanity developed thousands of years ago. Traditional olive-growing methods, developed over time, possess profound knowledge of nature. Signals of climate that are reflected in the folk calendar provide guidance for cultivation practices, ranging from pruning to fertilization. Moreover, the olive tree is not singular. A veritable olive habitat is created around the olive tree. All of this culminates in a perfectly balanced ecosystem.
The olive harvest is a celebration in its own right. This is the time when the traditional Anatolian practice of "imece," or working and producing together, comes to life. In the olive-growing regions of the northern Aegean, this practice is known as "örfene," reflecting a culture of solidarity. In a sense, it is a method of mutually exchanging time and labor. Everyone’s olives are harvested in turn and everyone helps one another — that is, participates in the “örfene.” Thus, as people join hands, the process of the olive’s journey from tree to table begins. Rituals, festivals and feasts held after the harvest celebrate the olive.
The Olive Route: A Gastronomic Discovery
Turkish cuisine is unique in that it has a culinary category and cooking technique known as “zeytinyağlı,” simply meaning “with olive oil,” which refers to dishes that are slow-braised in olive oil. Olives are a mainstay of our breakfasts and olive oil adorns our meals. We enjoy dunking our bread in olive oil spiked with a sprinkling of flaked chili peppers and thyme. However, our true wealth lies in our variety of olives. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, 134 varieties of local olives have been identified. The “Olive Atlas of Türkiye,” which is being prepared as part of the ongoing EU-supported Anatolivar project, will showcase this rich diversity.
Olives are also an important emerging asset in gastronomic tourism. Speaking on behalf of the TGA (Tourism and Promotion Development Agency), heritage expert Başak Emir highlighted the potential of olive routes from a gastronomic tourism perspective. She demonstrated how these routes can intersect with history, archaeology, culinary culture and wine routes, essentially serving as the backbone of cultural routes in olive-growing regions. The Route of the Olive Tree, which expands every year, is a cultural journey stretching from Çanakkale to Muğla. The Inner Aegean region is like a green sea of olive groves reaching beyond the horizon. There are also ancient olive trees that are considered living monuments of nature. Workshop participants also had the opportunity to visit the 1,680-year-old tree in Bakır village, Kırkağaç, one of the oldest registered olive trees in Anatolia. Over generations, the monument tree has been grafted with different varieties and still bears four distinct types of indigenous olives: Memecik, Edremit, Uslu and Trilye. Olive-centric road trips offer the opportunity to discover such wonders.
Olive Literacy
During the workshop, one panel was dedicated to food culture and gastronomy. The panelists were myself, as a gastronomy writer; Alen Mevlat, the Anatolivar project leader; Chef Osman Sezener from Od Urla; and Nazım Tanrıkulu, an expert on medicinal and aromatic plants. The panel focused on the richness of olive varieties native to Anatolia and the olive habitat. Unfortunately, we still know little about our olive culture. It is now time to highlight the diversity of our olive varieties in gastronomy and discuss which olive oils pair well with which dishes. Today, chefs need to have a palette of a variety of olive oils to suit to particular dishes. It is of utmost importance to elevate the olive literacy, which includes the ability to differentiate quality olive oil from a faulty product, the knowledge of the aromatic profiles of different olive types and ultimately, the dispelling of common culinary myths regarding olives. One initial step could be developing olive guides and courses to enhance literacy about olives, targeting people from all walks of life, from producers to consumers. We need to learn more and improve our understanding of olives to embark on a new journey and step into a whole new era of olive culture.
