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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT |
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Upon his deathbed, Adam asked God for mercy and asked his son "Seth" to help him. Seth collected three seeds from the trees of goodness and evil from the Garden of Eden and placed them in his father's mouth. When his father was buried, the seeds sprouted and an olive tree, a cedar tree and Mediterranean cypress grew from there.
When we look at the place of olive tree leaves in the course of history, they symbolize victory, wisdom and peace. It was an olive branch brought back by a pigeon that signaled to Noah that the disaster of the flood was coming to an end. When we examine history and our daily lives, we see that there is not much place within our land where the influence of olives is not evident. There are two views regarding where olives originated; the first is that they came from the Aegean region and the Mediterranean region ranging from Anatolia to Syria and Lebanon. The second is that they came from Egypt, or North Africa's Atlas mountains. The people of Mesopotamian civilization, which was comprised of Assyrians and Babylonians, knew about olives and even used them as a means of trade. In excavations in Urla and Cesme, ports used for olives and olive products, were evident as early as 300 BC. This excavation also showed that the olive industry is at least 5,000 years old. In the Hellenistic period, olive trees were considered sacred and those who cut them down were either exiled or sentenced to death.
In the Koran, olives are mentioned. It was written that the fruit was gathered from olive trees on Sina Mountain, and gave olive oil, which was used to add taste to food. Growing and maintaining olive trees is a laborious duty however those who do it are paid liberally. Maybe that's why olives are considered the symbol of peace.
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OLIVE IN HISTORY
During the course of history, different cultures looked upon the olive as a sign of hope and peace while others looked upon the olive tree and its fruit as sacred. That's a reason why there are few things that have attracted attention as much as the olive has. For as long as 10,000 years, the olive has been a symbol of sacredness for everyone from Greek athletes, to saints, to the first doctors and the gods.
According to the findings at Urla, the amphoras used to transport olives were found in the areas around the Black Sea and other locations, indicating that olives were traded across borders. Boats were constructed for commercial purposes in the Mediterranean region. Over time, olive trade spread. In places such as Australia, South Africa and China, where knowledge and the soil conditions were proper, olives were grown. |
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