A 1,300-year-old monumental tree was harvested in the Mut district of Mersin, which has an important place in Türkiye's olive and olive oil production sector. Some 250 kilograms (551.16 pounds) of olives were collected from the gigantic tree at the harvest attended by Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan.

The tree has endured for hundreds of years and draws attention with its bounty every year. Pehlivan stated in a speech that Mersin is a production hub. He added, "We are the first in Türkiye in 10 items, second in 17 products."

"Our province produces a wide variety of goods, ranging from apricots to strawberries and from bananas to plums, in particular, the Mut apricot. Besides, the district is No. 1 in Türkiye for table apricots despite being second in joint production. In addition, Mut district leads in olive production. Although olives are also grown in the Tarsus and Silifke districts, the production of olives in the Mut district is distributed throughout a 269,000 decares-wide area," he explained.

As farmers benefit from government incentives, 20 olive oil factories and 11 distinct olive processing facilities were placed into operation. According to Pehlivan, "This tree is as old as documented human history, as it can be deduced from the olive on which we depend, and this tree has been registered as a monumental tree at 1,300 years old."

In addition to this tree, our district also has three more monumental trees that are 820, 650 and 435 years old. Nearly 15 million olive trees can be found in the district, which accounts for 10% of all the olive trees in our nation, he stated.