Placing harmony with nature, good food and cultural diversity at the heart of its production, Sevilma is launching the world’s first Olive Oil Library, transforming olive oil culture into a multi-layered experience. The library will be named after the journalist Yücel Sönmez, who passed away in June 2025. Located in the village of Orhanlı, within Turkey’s first Slow Food Farm, the Sevilma Garden, this special venue will open its doors on 29 March 2026 in collaboration with the Slow Food Mahal community.
A Library with No Books at All
Yücel Sönmez Olive Oil Library, bringing together 75 different olive oils—ranging from the ancient olive varieties of Anatolia to those from various parts of the world—under one roof. Visitors will have the opportunity to sample these olive oils from various regions of Anatolia and around the world at the tasting area located within the library.
This is a library, but there are no books on its shelves. There are only olive oils… Reading in this library means tasting a variety of delicious olive oils. At the Yücel Sönmez Olive Oil Library, visitors can sample 75 different oils from various regions across America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Anatolia.
The library also invites visitors to explore the climate, soil, production methods and cultural background of each olive oil. In this way, olive oil transcends its status as merely a food product to become an object of memory, narrative and heritage. The Yücel Sönmez Olive Oil Library aims to serve as a reference point and meeting place for gastronomy professionals, olive oil enthusiasts, researchers and producers.
A Cultural Space Born of Harmony with Nature
The starting point for the Yücel Sönmez Olive Oil Library is the concept of “preserving the individual, social and cultural existence of every being”—the fundamental approach of Sevilma. Designed in line with this approach, the library aims to highlight the olive tree’s journey spanning thousands of years and the diversity of olive oil production culture. The Olive Oil Library aims to serve as a reference point and meeting place for gastronomy professionals, olive oil enthusiasts, researchers, producers and schools.
Sevilma: From 250 Years of Agricultural History to the Present Day
Recognised by UNESCO and Slow Food, Sevilma—which aims to preserve the olive oil of the Aegean’s Ancient Production Basins—is Turkey’s first Slow Food Farm, carrying Anatolia’s culture of abundance into the future. With roots stretching back to a 250-year-old agricultural tradition in Gelibolu, Çanakkale, Sevilma continues olive oil production in the village of Orhanlı (Seferihisar) in accordance with agroecological principles.
Designed not merely as a food product, but the Yücel Sönmez Olive Oil Library, designed for everyone who views olive oil as an expression of a way of life, historical continuity and a relationship with nature, will begin welcoming visitors with an opening ceremony on 29 March 2026.
“We didn’t want to pit olive oils against one another; we wanted to understand them and explain them”
Commenting on the matter, Dr Güven Eken, Founder of Sevilma Olive Oils, said:
“A good olive oil for Sevilma must not only possess impeccable sensory and chemical properties; it must also accurately embody geographical, ecological and cultural values. Viewed in this light, the world of olive oil is, in fact, one of the richest and most diverse cultural spheres on earth. The Yücel Sönmez Olive Oil Library was conceived as a celebration of this unique diversity of olives and olive oils.”.
The idea of pitting different types of olive oil—or oils produced from different olive varieties—against one another has always struck me as odd. Erkence, Memecik, Derik Halhalı or other olive varieties from different parts of the world… They are all products of their unique geographical regions. Naturally, their oils are also distinct from one another, and each is exceptionally delicious within its own culture and cuisine.
For this reason, rather than comparing olive oils in terms of which is superior, we chose to highlight the differences between them through tasting, thereby explaining how each olive oil performs in different gastronomic pairings. We wanted to reflect this unique richness not merely through words, but directly through tasting. This is how the idea for the Olive Oil Library came about.
When I shared our idea with our dear Yücel Sönmez before he passed away, he said to me, ‘You want to set up the world’s first olive oil library.’ Sadly, just a few weeks after he mentioned this, he passed away in June 2025 without seeing his dream come true. For this reason, we decided to honour the memory of Yücel Sönmez—who gave this idea its name and first voiced it—by associating his name with this unique library.
We hope that the Yücel Sönmez Olive Oil Library will serve as a valuable focal point, allowing visitors to experience and learn about the world’s unique diversity of olives and olive oils, whilst highlighting the depth of olive oil culture as it extends from Anatolia to the wider world.
”Sevilma views olive oil not merely as a food product, but as a living part of the landscape, culture and biodiversity. With this library, we are establishing a meeting place and centre for experiences that will keep this philosophy alive for generations to come.”
Türkçe 
English (UK)