Olive Route

The olive tree is as old as human history and is the most important gift of the world's plant heritage. From tree to fruit, from branch to leaf, from oil to seed, the healing olive tree continues to embrace humanity for centuries. “Olive”, praised in all holy books and “Olive Oil”, described as “Liquid Gold” by the ancient poet Homer, has been blessing our city for thousands of years.
The olive tree has been a symbol of fertility and victory, the olive branch a symbol of peace, and olive oil a symbol of purity and simplicity. Bursa, which has been the favorite of all civilizations throughout history with its port city, fertile soil and Uludağ, is an ancient city where you can lean your back against the green and watch the blue and live with olives.
A privileged destination that offers history, culture, nature, thermal, local flavors and crafts, artistic experiences, gastronomy and harvest tourism on the same route.

On day 1, our tour starts with a village breakfast prepared with local products at Gemlik Umurbey Women's Association and continues with a visit to Celal Bayar Monument Tomb and Museum in Umurbey Village, a visit to Celal Bayar's House, a coffee in the view of Ay Tepe Gemlik Bay and a visit to Traditional Village Mansions. After Umurbey Village, the 2nd stop of our route is Gedelek Village, a village of Orhangazi district, famous for its pickles. In Gedelek Village, where the best quality pickles are produced thanks to the quality of natural spring walls, we will see how these local pickles are made and taste them. Then, you will take a journey through time in Yeni Gürle Village, where we will see how history and nature intertwine and offer a unique visual while walking among traditional village mansions. We will visit the historical mosque and bathhouse dating back to the Orhan Gazi period. You will also see the first monumental fountains built in the Republican Period in this village. After having a lunch prepared with local products in Yeni Gürle Village, we will continue our tour by picking strawberries in Orhangazi Akharem Village, where strawberry harvesting continues throughout the summer. The 5th stop of our route is Sölöz Village, which has historical villages built with adobe and woodwork. In particular, you can visit the Hacıbey Mansion, built by Armenian craftsmen between 1840 and 1850, which is located among the historical houses in this village and take a souvenir photo.Afterwards, we will visit the plane tree mentioned in Nazım Hikmet's will in his quote “If there is a plane tree on my hill, I don't want a stone...”. In Müşküle Village, where this plane tree is located, you can watch the magnificent view of Iznik Lake, taste the honey-scented Müşküle grape and examine the Müşküle Needlework products, which are unique examples of traditional handicrafts. Another route of our tour is Göllüce Village, home to Bursa's oldest olive tree. You can taste olives and olive oil in this region where the highest quality olives are grown. If you visit the village in November or December, you can also participate in the olive harvest. The next stop is Derbent Village, where you can see the products produced by the village women on their weaving looms. If you visit this village in May, you can also see the blood flowers, an endemic plant species of the region. Afterwards, you can go to the center of Iznik and have dinner against the sunset on Lake Iznik, which has the most beautiful sunset in the world. Preferably, you can complete the 1st day route by tasting Fish Branekleme, Fish Short, catfish skewers or catfish frying pan prepared from fish caught from Lake Iznik.

On the 2nd day of the tour, you will see the Roman, Seljuk, Ottoman monuments in the center of Iznik and the ancient walls of Iznik, one of the longest walls in Turkey, and you will see that Iznik has always been the capital of civilizations. Then you can visit the Elbeyli Obelisk (Obelix), which is located on the Historical Silk Road in the plain of Elbeyli Village, among peach and olive orchards. If you pass through this route in summer, you can also witness the peach harvest. Afterwards, we will discover the historical texture among the traditional village houses of İnikli Village, an old Greek village dating back to the Roman period. The next stops of our tour are Çandarlı, Kırıntı and Elmalı Villages, known as the mountain and forest villages of İznik. You can taste local products in the facilities and restaurants in these villages with their nature reminiscent of the Black Sea climate and have your lunch in a unique nature. Iznik is also the district that produces the most blueberries in Bursa. And especially the blueberries grown in these villages are the highest quality products of the region. At these stops of our tour, you can also taste blueberries. Then, in Elmalı Village, you can visit the Elmalı Çivisiz Mosque, which was built in 1884 without nails and made entirely of wood. In the continuation of our tour, we will go down to Boyalıca Village, one of the mountain villages on the edge of Iznik Lake, and have a tea and coffee break by the lake. Then, we will go to Keramet Hot Spring, where the healing thermal water source in Keramet Village is located. Afterwards, we will complete our tour with dinner against the sunset by Lake Iznik.