Harvesting olives during an amazing culinary vacation in Turkey with The International Kitchen.

A table on the terrace of your accommodation in Turkey.

Relaxing under the olive trees during an olive harvest culinary vacation in Turkey.

A view of the teaching kitchen on the terrace.

Enjoying a meal together during the olive harvest in Turkey.

A delicious spread of food during your cooking vacation in Turkey.

Harvesting olives during a culinary vacation on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

Picking through the olives during the olive harvest in Turkey.

Harvesting the olives during an authentic cooking vacation in Turkey with The International Kitchen.

Time in front of the fire during your cooking vacation.

Bags of olives packed and ready to be taken to the press.

The beautiful Mediterranean city of Bodrum, visiting during your cooking vacation in Turkey.

Turkey's beautiful Mediterranean Coast.

Enjoying borek during your culinary vacation in Turkey.

Getting into the trees during the olive harvest culinary vacation in Turkey.

Enjoying a beautiful day in Turkey during your culinary vacation.

Olives at the market in Turkey.

A picturesque street in Turkey.

Enjoying the cozy living room at your accommodation in Turkey.

Olives on the tree and ready for harvesting.

Enjoying lahmacun on a Turkey cooking vacation with The International Kitchen.

Time with friends during your cooking vacation in Turkey.

Visiting the city of Bodrum during your Turkish culinary tour.

The castle in the beautiful Mediterranean city of Bodrum, visiting during your cooking vacation in Turkey.

Delicious homemade bread on your Turkish culinary vacation.

Woven, handmade Turkish rugs.

Dining after a cooking class in Turkey.

Enjoying a day in the countryside of Turkey harvesting olives.

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Overview

Olive Harvest Weeks on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast

Among the staples of Mediterranean cuisine the mighty olive, and the oil it produces, reigns supreme! And on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, growing and harvesting olives is a way of life that you can explore on this authentic Mediterranean culinary vacation. The year is spent looking after the important olive trees, and then finally harvesting them to create “liquid gold.”

One of the traditions you will experience on our Mediterranean cooking vacation is the olive harvest, during which family, friends, and neighbors gather to work together in this classic endeavor.

The olive orchards in this part of Turkey stretch in all directions over the mountains. There are no fences, so only the owners know where one orchard ends and another starts. Everyone works together, with the understanding that one day someone will help you pick your olives, and the next you will help them pick theirs. When you join together for the harvest, it is tradition to serve good food and, of course, the ever-present Turkish tea, a sign of hospitality.

In Turkey life always revolves around food, but during the harvest, it is even more the case. Join us for this amazing Mediterranean cooking vacation and share in the olive harvesting traditions of coastal Turkey that go back over one thousand years! An added bonus of the harvest is that it takes place outdoors and offers plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

Your Mediterranean culinary vacation will help you understand the local customs, foods, and traditions of this part of Turkey in an authentic and intimate experience.

Can’t make the olive harvest? You can still visit Turkey’s Mediterranean coast with our Cooking on Turkey’s Aegean Coast tour.

Trip Details

Enjoy the Mediterranean flavors of Turkish cuisine during your one hands-on cooking class with your hostess, chef Aslihan. Alsi, as she is called, left her job as an executive in the hospitality industry to open a restaurant in Ortakent, where she also started organizing cooking classes featuring delicious, authentic Turkish cuisine. She will teach you all about healthy Mediterranean cooking, which includes a lot of vegetables and olive oil, and traditional Turkish dishes.

Day One

Transfer from Bodrum/Milas airport in the afternoon. (Transfers from other locations can be arranged for a small addition fee on request.) Meet your host and settle into your room.
Tonight, a welcome dinner overlooking the mythical Aegean Sea.

Day Two

Wake in the early morning to head to the orchards, where you will start by placing nets under the trees. This will help you collect 3 full packs (40 kilograms each) of olives before you even have breakfast!
While you are picking the olives, friends will prepare tea and coffee over a wood fire, along with a rich breakfast of olives, olive oil, bread, tomatoes, and cheeses.
After breakfast, continue your picking with a friendly competition to see who can gather the most olives.
In the late afternoon, enjoy a snack by the fire. The snack might be similar to an English high tea, with cakes and cookies, or with sucuk (Turkish sausages) and chicken wings grilled over the wood fire.
After the harvesting is finished for the day, help load the packs on the tractor and accompany the olives to the communal press, where you will watch the magic that turns these small fruits into olive oil.
Taste the oil fresh from the press with bread and a glass of wine.
Back to your accommodations and overnight.

Day Three

Enjoy a nice Turkish breakfast with fresh eggs from the neighbors, cheeses, olives, and freshly baked bread. Then visit a small vegetable farm in the village, where you will pick vegetables to prepare with olive oil (of course!) during your hands-on cooking class. Make boreks (Turksh pastries) stuffed with herbs and cheese as well as with beef and potato. Prepare an assortment of fresh vegetables, and even a dessert made with olive oil.
During the cooking class you will sample different types of olive oil from different regions of Turkey. You will learn the properties of olive oil, how to taste it, and how to understand the differences between an early and late harvest. You will also experience different grades of olive oil and learn the rules behind their classification.
Enjoy a meal based on your efforts paired with wines of the area.
Rest of day at leisure, with time to stroll into the village, visit nearby Bargilya on the coast, or enjoy some time around the fireplace.
Overnight.

Day Four

Leave the house in the morning and head to the local vineyards and villages. Breakfast will be enjoyed at a very typical traditional village of the countryside. You will meet the family that farms, cooks, and makes carpets and kilims (Turkish flat-woven rugs). The matriarch will show you how she weaves carpets and kilims, and you will gain a new understanding of why they are so precious to the locals. The traditional in this area is that every season after the olive harvest, the locals would go to the market to buy wool (if they did not have it from their own sheep) in order for the young girls to start weaving carpets for their dowries.
In the afternoon, head for a local vineyard and meet the own, who will teach you about the grapes and wines of the area, which you will of course taste accompanied by local snacks.
Free time in the evening for dinner on your own and overnight.

Day Five

After a breakfast at home, head into the city of Bodrum. You will have free time to explore on your own, but we recommend the Castle and monuments as well as some relaxed wandering to enjoy the shops. Lunch on your own in Bodrum.
In the afternoon, head back and get freshened up for your dinner, which will be a fine dining tasting dinner at Karnas Vineyards, complete with wine pairings featuring their award-winning wines.
Overnight.

Day Six

Depart early this morning for Stratonikeia, a city of the Ancient World. It was not only a very important city during its time, but it is considered one of the most intriguing cities to visit since it had been continuously inhabited until the 1940’s. Discover the amazing site of ancient ruins right next to 19th-century village homes. Breakfast will be at the site. Explore with the help of a professional guide on this leisurely walking tour.
Next, head to Lagina, which back in ancient times was connected to Stratonikeia by a 15 km “sacred” road. The road was considered sacred because it joined Lagina, the ancient religious center, with Stratonikeia, its political counterpart.
Finally, visit the city of Milas (Mylasa), with its archeological museum and vibrant farmers’ market.
Back home with free time to enjoy dinner or a stroll into town on your own.
Overnight.