In the Mengen district of Bolu, northern Türkiye, a 1,127-year-old oak tree, recognized as "Türkiye's oldest oak tree," stands tall at 16 meters (52 feet) high with a circumference of 11.4 meters, defying the passage of time.
Located in the town of Gökçesu's Mamatlar village plateau, the oak tree with thick branches was officially recognized as Türkiye's oldest oak tree by the General Directorate of Nature Conservation of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in 2005.
At over a thousand years old, the oak tree has a diameter of 363 centimeters, a height of 16 meters, and a circumference of 11.4 meters. As part of the maintenance and rehabilitation of monumental trees, decaying parts of the tree were removed, and the surrounding area was treated with chemicals. The cleaning of the nearby grassy and bushy areas took six days.
Among the 18 oak species native to the country, the sapless oak is one of the most valuable, capable of growing up to 30 meters high and living up to 2,000 years.
This first-class oak species matures its acorns within a year and is approximately 25 kilometers from the district center.
In Bolu and its districts of Mengen, Göynük and Mudurnu, monumental trees such as oak, black pine, plane tree and Turkish hazelnut, aged approximately 220 to 630 years, are protected.
Mamatlar village head Mehmet Bozkurt told Anadolu Agency (AA) that cleaning operations around the registered oak and its surroundings were completed a week ago, with officials from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Monuments Council visiting the area.
Bozkurt noted that there used to be 30 houses in the historically significant plateau during his childhood, but the area lost its vitality as animal husbandry declined. He expressed the intention to develop the area for tourism.
He mentioned that roads leading to the tree, with determined coordinates, are open for visitors, and maintenance of these roads would ensure year-round access to the site.
Bozkurt also indicated that discussions are underway to surround the oak tree with fencing to protect it and emphasized the need to continuously clean the area to protect the monumental tree from fires.
