Guide
Oleatrium is a registered private museum devoted to the history of olive growing and olive oil production, and it is built on one man's collection: thirty years of objects gathered by Hasan Tonbul. Preparation of the project began in May 2009 at the urging of Gürsel Tonbul, the design was finished that October and work started in November. It opened in May 2011 as the Oleatrium Exhibition Hall and was granted private museum status in 2012.
The name is made from two Latin words, olea and atrium — olive and courtyard — so the museum calls itself the olive courtyard.
What it covers is the long development of olive oil, from the oldest known production techniques through to the early industrial period, and the thread that runs through it is the connection between the olive and the history of Anatolia and the Mediterranean.
The building carries the same argument as the collection. Wherever possible the construction used local and original salvaged material — old brick, stone and timber taken from demolished buildings — rather than new, for the sake of sustainability and of keeping something original.
The museum does not intend to be only a place of display and storage. Its stated aim is to work as an educational and cultural institution for its district, province and region: hosting local events, social and cultural activity and exhibitions, and publishing scientific work.
