Olive growing in Balıkesir

The heart of olive growing in Balıkesir is the Gulf of Edremit. The districts of Edremit, Burhaniye, Havran and Gömeç are known together as the "Gulf of Edremit olive belt"; add Ayvalık and you have a production band whose table olives and oil reach world markets.

Beyond the coastal strip, olives are also grown in Erdek, Bandırma and Marmara Island — the province holds two distinct olive geographies, one facing the Aegean gulf and one on the Marmara coast.

The groves around the gulf include trees 500 to 800 years old, among the oldest in Turkey. The monumental olive trees of Edremit are the measured record of that inheritance.

Ayvalık Olive Oil was registered as a designation of origin in 2007 and is known for its sensory and chemical profile.

The dominant variety around the gulf is Edremit (Ayvalık): thin-skinned, relatively low in flesh and high in oil — sources give figures between 25% and 28%. That structure steers the variety towards oil rather than the table.

On the province's Marmara coast grows Edincik Su, named after Edincik near Bandırma — a separate variety from the one in the gulf. Two varietal geographies within one province make Balıkesir a place where oil and table production meet.

The full list of recorded varieties and their regional spread: olive map of Turkey