Adatepe Olive Oil Museum

Adatepe Zeytinyagi Muzesi

Turkey's first and only olive oil museum opened in July 2001. Olive oil culture is so deeply rooted that it was mentioned in almost all sacred books. Although, olive production dates back to pre-historic times in Turkey, much of its history is being forgotten in modern times. The goal of the Adatepe Olive Oil Museum is to preserve the literary and visual history of olive oil production in Turkey, or as it was previously called, Anatolia.
The owners of the traditional Adatepe Olive Oil factory have restored their abandoned antique soap factory building in Kucukkuyu county of Canakkale province and re-designed it to serve as a traditional cold press olive oil factory which will also display various precious artifacts related to olive culture, collected from the local villagers. The visitors who stop by the museum will be amazed at the very simple procedure of olive oil extraction by the traditional methods.
On the large factory site, one can see large and small objects impressively displayed, such as: huge granite stone mills for grinding the olives, antique olive presses belonging to different periods of history, numerous tools for pruning, olive picking as well as carrying baskets and earthenware jars for olive oil storage, amphoras from sunken ships of early trade throughout the Mediterranean, the huge oven and the bowl for soap making, knives and stamps for hand made pure olive oil soaps, olive oil lambs, and various labels of the local producers.Text, maps and pictures in the museum display the adventure of olive oil from soil to the table' by months, the spread of olives from the Middle East to Europe throughout history, related verses or writings in The Old and the New Testament of the Jewish and Christian faiths as well as in the Islamic Ko'ran.It will be interesting for both Turkish and foreign visitors to see the path of olive from tree to table while they enjoy tasting freshly baked thick crispy village bread dipped into equally fresh 'extra virgin olive oil'. They may also witness the demonstration of pure olive oil soap making, and take home some samples of both olive oil and soap.Located near the Cankkale-Izmir state highway in Kucukkuyu and organized on the contemporary 'living-museum' concept, the museum invites visitors to relax in the modern facilities and tranquil courtyard where they may enjoy tasting a rich selection of herbal teas, fresh squeezed orange juice, various coffees, and cold drinks at the museum's 'Caf? Olea'.
Those who like something genuine from Turkey may buy a small hand-made ceramic bottle of extra virgin olive oil, hand-made olive oil soaps, local artisan objects or a cookbook with many recipes of Turkish Cuisine from the museum shop.
The Adatepe Olive Oil Museum is an early example of Turkey's developing 'Agri-tourism'. Open seven days a week, it is an attractive stop for the increasingly popular gastronomy tours covering the North-East Aegean region of Turkey. The objects displayed in the museum have explanations both in the local and English languages. The entrance is free of charge.