Olive growing in Mersin

Mersin holds some of the oldest olive traces in Turkey. Excavations at Yumuktepe, near the city, uncovered carbonised olive stones alongside fig and almond remains, showing that the olive was among local food sources from the beginning of the Neolithic.

The earliest traces of oil-making technology are on this coast too: production remains have been found in archaeological work at Erdemli, Kumkuyu, Akkale and Silifke. The olive here is not a modern agricultural choice but a continuity thousands of years old.

The Mut district of Mersin is one of Turkey's leading olive oil centres. Mut Olive Oil was registered as a designation of origin in Turkey in 2018 and entered PDO status in the European Union in 2025 — one of the few Turkish olive oils registered at EU level.

The registration file also documents the depth of olive growing in the district: the remains of a Roman-era olive press and a registered 1,300-year-old monumental olive tree in the Haydar neighbourhood.

We covered the present-day problems and export potential of Mut's olive oil businesses in a 2025 field study: olive oil enterprises in Mut.

Mersin's own variety, Silifke Yağlık, takes its name from the district it originates in and is widely found in the area. Its notable trait is adaptation to both heat and drought.

That matters in the climate debate: as we saw with temperature thresholds, the olive's upper limit sits around 40 °C given irrigation, and drought-tolerant local varieties gain value in a warming climate.

The recorded varieties of the Mediterranean region include Sarı Ulak, Sarı Haşebi, Saurani, Büyük Topak Ulak and Tavşanyüreği.

In Mersin the olive grows in a broad belt running from Tarsus east to Anamur, and the varieties separate clearly by district.

Mut is the province's production centre, with 22 olive oil factories. Alongside the geographically indicated Mut olive oil, the registered 1,300-year-old monumental olive tree stands here.

Tarsus is known for the endemic Sarı Ulak variety — recognised by its aromatic character and distinctive yellowish colour. Both the olive and its oil carry geographical indication protection. The district also grows Gemlik and the local Büyük Topak Ulak.

Across the province Domat and Kalamata — known locally as Tekir — are also found. Silifke Yağlık, the variety of the district it is named after, is grown mainly for oil but can serve as a table olive.

Differences in climate and soil produce diversity in both variety and quality within a single province.