Olive growing in the Ege region

The olive is widely distributed across the Büyük and Küçük Menderes basins; groves begin at the Aegean coast and reach inland, at varying density, as far as Denizli. Aydın holds more olive trees than any other province in Turkey — Kuşadası, Söke, Selçuk, Koçarlı, Sultanhisar, Nazilli, Yenipazar, Çine and Karacasu are the principal growing areas. Most rainfall comes in winter; the summer is dry.

Milas and its surroundings form another dense concentration. The trees there were once entirely Memecik, but recent plantings have used Gemlik, whose numbers in the district now exceed one million.

The Aegean is the centre of gravity of Turkish olive growing: about two thirds of the area and more than half of the output. The region's character is predominantly oil-oriented — roughly 55% of the crop goes to pressing.

But there is a clear split within it. Manisa sends 34% of its crop to table use, against 9% in İzmir and 7% in Muğla. Akhisar and its surroundings produce for the table; Milas and the northern Aegean line produce for oil. "Aegean olive growing" is not one thing but at least two traditions.

Yields differ sharply too: 33.1 kg per tree in Çanakkale (in Marmara, but part of the same belt) against 21.0 kg in Aydın. Aydın holds the most trees yet ranks third in output — tree count alone does not make a crop.