Olive tree is among the oldest known cultivated trees on earth. It is native to Asia Minor (present day Asian Turkey) and East Mediterranean. And this is from where the olive tree was taken to rest of the Mediterranean and the Aegean.

It was actually the Phoenicians that brought the olive tree to the Greek mainland, but mythology tells a different version of the story. Athens is named after Goddess Athena who gave the olive to the Greeks as a gift. In ancient Greece, only virgins were allowed to pick olives during harvest. And the winners in Olympic Games were presented olive-wreaths as trophies.

In the Old Testament, a dove brings an olive branch to prophet Noah, symbolizing the end of the great flood. Ancient Jews used olive oil in their religious ceremonies. The oil was poured daily into the seven cups of golden candelabrum in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

People did not care about eating the fruit of the olive tree until almost the end of the 2nd millenium BC. A vital use of olive oil in the ancient times was as fuel for oil lamps. In the following centuries, people started to use it as anointing oil for rituals, and in the Roman times, for cleansing and for cosmetic purposes. Later on it became an ingredient for soap. Olive oil soap is still in extensive use in Turkey.

Ancient people used olive oil even in wine making process. As they drained the grape juice into wine containers, they poured a small amount of olive oil into it, to cover the surface with a thin layer of oil to seal the juice. Olive oil never mixed with the juice, so when grape juice became the divine liqueur, they could easily remove it from the surface.

Olive is harvested during late fall, and as you may know, should be picked before it falls on the ground. Parts of the country, they are hand-picked by those who are devoted. But many farmers still find it easier to beat the branches with something like a broomstick, and gather olives that fall from the tree on a large piece of textile or plastic underneath. The beating process harms the branches, and as the tree heals itself, there is hardly any crop the following year.

Farmers then take their olives to an olive oil factory for pressing. As tons and tons of olive sacks are stacked on top of an other, by their own weight, tiny amount of oil comes out naturally. These golden drops are called “virgin”, unprocessed olive oil. Actually it is hard to find this “virgin olive oil” in the market. It is literally the farmers' share.

On our tours to Aegean Turkey, you will learn more about the process to extract olive oil by traditional methods.