Daily Iznik Olive Harvest Tour

The olive tree (Olea europea) is a delicate tree. Despite its slow and laborious growth, it is very long-lived. The average lifespan of an olive tree is 300-400 years, but olive trees aged 3,000 years have also been encountered. For this reason, the olive tree is called the "immortal tree" in mythology and botany. Olive, which maintains its indispensable importance in humanity's 8,000-year culinary culture, is grown abundantly in our country. Iznik, whose homeland is Turkey, is the largest production center in Marmara for olive production. Iznik olives are grown as table olives. While Turkey meets 10% of world olive production, it ranks first in black olive production, second in table olives, and 4th in olive oil production. The methods of harvesting olives have hardly changed for thousands of years; hand-picking or shaking methods have been used for centuries. The harvest takes place between November and March. In hand-picking, milking or combing methods are used, while rollers or brushes are used for picking from the ground. Today, machines (shaking and equipment that sucks up the fruit on the ground) are also used in olive harvesting. The method that requires the most labor in practice is hand-picking. This method, where a maximum of 9-10 kilograms of olives are collected per hour, ensures the production of the best quality olive oil if the fruit is intact. Among the agricultural products produced in Iznik, olives take the first place as a source of income for 70% of farmer families. Depending on the years, 12,000-18,000 tons of olives are produced from these olive groves known as Gemlik type [Gemlik Type Olive], and 90% of this is evaluated as table olives and 10% as oil olives.

* IZNIK

* The first capital of the Turks in Anatolia

* The place where the 1st COUNCIL and 7th COUNCIL in the history of Christianity were held

* The first Imaret (soup kitchen) built with an inverted T plan in Ottoman architecture (Nilüfer Hatun)

* Turkey's 5th largest lake, Iznik Lake

* The only Roman theater that has survived to the present day in the Marmara Region

OLIVE HARVEST - OLIVE OIL FACTORY - HAGIA SOPHIA CHURCH - GREEN MOSQUE - IZNIK TILE WORKSHOP - ELBEYLI VILLAGE

Our tour departs by picking you up from 07.00 Yenibosna Airport AVM Parking Lot - 07.30 in front of Prontotour Head Office - 08.00 next to Kadıköy Tepe Nautilus AVM (Ayrılık Çeşme Metro Station İspark Parking Lot) - 08.15 Kartal Yemek Center - 08.30 in front of Gebze Center AVM, and we set off towards Iznik, a museum city that has held an important place in all periods of history, using the Osmangazi Bridge. First, we go to Inikli Village, where we will perform the olive harvest. After a short tour in Inikli village, we participate in the harvest by picking olives from the branch in the olive grove reserved for us (Harvest may be done in another village depending on climatic conditions). Afterwards, we go to the olive factory near the village to get information about olive oil and see its processing. We give a short shopping break for our guests who wish. Then, we start touring Iznik within the walls, which houses many historical structures. The places we will see when we visit Iznik on foot are; Green Mosque, Hacı Özbek Mosque, Nilüfer Hatun Imaret (if not closed due to restoration), Lefke Gate, Roman Aqueducts, Hagia Sophia Church, Roman Theater (Panoramic), Süleyman Pasha Madrasa, Tile Kilns Excavation Area (Panoramic), Çandarlı Tomb. Then we go to the Iznik Tile Workshop. Here, while we get information about tiles from our master, we also paint our own tiles (Extra). After our shopping break here, we start visiting the villages around Iznik that contain historical and natural beauties. First, we go to Elbeyli village. Here we visit the Obelisk (Beştaş) from the Roman period and the Monumental Plane Tree. After being satisfied with history, we drink our fatigue tea by watching the sunset by Iznik Lake. Then we depart for Istanbul. We leave you, our dear guests, at the points where we picked you up, hoping to see you in the next Prontotour organization, and say goodbye. Goodbye.

Breakfast: Will be taken as an extra.
Lunch: Will be taken as an extra.
Dinner: Will be taken as an extra.
Route: Istanbul – Iznik (140 km) Iznik Sightseeing Tours (30 km) Iznik - Istanbul (140 km)
Total Distance to be Covered: 310 Km

NOTE: IN ORDER TO BE SUITABLE FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE TOUR, THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE TOUR WILL BE LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF 25 PEOPLE. DUE TO THIS, THE VEHICLES WE WILL USE WILL BE VEHICLES WITH A SEATING CAPACITY OF 27 OR 16.

MIDIBUSES

ISUZU TURKUAZ: 31+1 or 27 + 1 Seating, Reclining Bus Seats, Abs, Asr, Air Conditioning, 1 Monitor, 1 Refrigerator, Kitchen Unit with Water Heater, Reading Lights, Sound System for Guide Announcements, Cd and Dvd Player.

NOVO LUX: 31+1 or 27 + 1 Seating, Reclining Bus Seats, Abs, Asr, Air Conditioning, 1 Monitor, 1 Refrigerator, Kitchen Unit with Water Heater, Reading Lights, Sound System for Guide Announcements, Cd and Dvd Player.

TEMSA PRESTIGE: 31+1 or 27 + 1 Seating, Reclining Bus Seats, Abs, Asr, Air Conditioning, 1 Monitor, 1 Refrigerator, Kitchen Unit with Water Heater, Reading Lights, Sound System for Guide Announcements, Cd and Dvd Player.

MINIBUSES

MERCEDES SPRINTER: 12+1 or 16 + 1 Seating, Specially Designed Reclining Bus Seats, Abs, Asr, Air Conditioning, 1 Refrigerator, Reading Lights, Sound System for Guide Announcements, Cd and Dvd Player.

WOLKSWAGEN CRAFTER: 12+1 or 16 + 1 Seating, Specially Designed Reclining Bus Seats, Abs, Asr, Air Conditioning, 1 Refrigerator, Reading Lights, Sound System for Guide Announcements, Cd and Dvd Player.

NOTE: Depending on the number of people in our tours, any of the vehicle types mentioned above is used.

OUR TOUR PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH CONSUMER LAW NO. 6502.