Our History
Five Generations
of Olive
From the village of Vamvakopoula in Crete to the foothills of the Kaz Mountains — a single family's craft, passed hand to hand since 1915.
A grove in Chania
The family's olive journey begins in the village of Vamvakopoula in the Chania region of Crete. The grove and mill belonging to Ali Karaali are where the foundations of our production knowledge are laid.
The Mavrazade name
During the war years, a deliberate decision was made to keep the family's olive-growing knowledge unbroken. Ali Karaali married his daughter to the son of the estate's steward — Semerci Hasan Usta, known thereafter as Mavrazade Hasan Bey.
This was more than a family bond. It secured the continuity of the craft itself. From this moment the lineage continues through him.
Crossing to Anatolia
With the population exchange of 1923–1924, the family is forced to leave Crete. The olive tradition and the knowledge of how to coax it from the tree travel with them.
The Kaz Mountains and Küçükkuyu become the new geography where the family takes root with the olive once again.
A lineage, settled
The production tradition carried by Mavrazade Hasan Bey takes shape within the family. This 1935 portrait is among the earliest images to document the moment the lineage settled into its new home and the craft was handed to the next generation.
Life in the marketplace
The Küçükkuyu marketplace and its surroundings become the heart where everyday life and production intertwine. Olive growing is no longer simply a livelihood — it becomes a regional culture.
Mithat As, returning home
Mithat As studies at Haydarpaşa High School in Istanbul, then returns home to continue olive and olive oil production in the family tradition.
The stone press
Hasan Hüseyin As leaves his studies at Kabataş High School to return to the family's craft. He carries on stone-pressed olive oil production through the years that come to define handwork and direct, unhurried making.
At the family table
The tradition is kept alive through a culture of producing and sharing together. Knowledge is passed on not only in the field but at the table — woven into daily life.
In the field
Production continues in the field, through labour. The stone-press tradition is upheld with respect for nature and for the fruit itself.
Melike As Betil
She grows up inside the family mill. As an agricultural engineer and organic farming specialist, she learns the craft where it is made — in the grove and at the press.
The modern mill
Melike As Betil and her husband Mehmet Betil establish the modern Mavras olive oil mill — designed against the most advanced olive oil technologies in the world.
Heritage, measured
Cold-pressed below 24°C. Held at a constant 17°C inside the mill. Stored under controlled conditions, bottle to bottle.
The intent is clear — to bring a deep-rooted family heritage forward with science, technology, and sustainability. At world standards.
