Oleatrium in Kuşadası

The Oleatrium (original name in Turkish: Oleatrium Zeytin ve Zeytinyağı Tarihi Müzesi) is a privately founded and operated museum for the cultivation, processing and use of olives and olive oil. The museum is located in the south of the Turkish Aegean, about 15 kilometres south of Kuşadası on the road to Davutlar. It was opened in the year 2011 and has an exhibition area of about 3000 square metres. The museum is operated by the couple Hasan and Gürsel Tonbul as part of the Değirmen-Farm and the Değirmen-Park, an ecological farm with a tourist experience park. The museum is the result of 30 years of collecting activity by its founders.

Museum layout

The main building has the appearance of an olive oil factory. It includes a reception hall with ticket sales and a museum shop (for olive oil and other agricultural products such as wines) as well as 11 exhibition rooms. In addition there is an outdoor garden and an indoor garden. As building material for the museum, locally sourced original materials such as bricks, stone, wood etc. were used as much as possible.

Processing and transport

The presentation of olive processing is arranged chronologically. Ancient Roman methods are shown as well as techniques from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. In the area for the early industrial era, installations for the expanding mass production are exhibited, which were operated with steam engines and diesel engines. Later, electrically driven technologies were employed, which are also presented in the museum. In the outdoor area, historic donkey carts alongside a Lanz Bulldog illustrate the change in transport technologies.

Since olives and wine are often produced in the same agricultural enterprises, devices and methods for wine production are also presented.

Use of olive oil

The exhibition also deals with the use of olive oil. In addition to its application as a food, the oil was also used as fuel for lamps. On this topic the “Lighting” department presents a large collection of oil lamps from various epochs.

In antiquity the oil also served the Romans as a health, beauty, cleaning and care product. The Oleatrium therefore also shows a replica of a classic Roman bath.