The olive tree is located in Greece and is 3500 years old, what three thousand years ago was a small wild olive tree, today is a leafy specimen that, despite its age, continues to give olives.
The olive tree is located in Greece and is 3500 years old
We are talking about the Eaia Boyb-n, a tree that is considered the oldest in the world and one of the few in Greece that still produces olives. It is so old that it has seen the fall of the most powerful empires in the world.
Given the historical and aesthetic characteristics of this great olive tree (whose diameter is 4.67 meters and its height is 12.5 meters), it was declared a Natural Monument in 1997.
Even during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, a branch of the tree was taken to make the crown of the winner of the marathon, an action that became a custom.
This specimen is located on the soil of the island of Crete (the largest in Greece), also famous for its fine, soft sandy beaches and white mountains. In its beginnings, this place belonged to the Minoan settlement, considered one of the oldest civilizations in Europe.
The centuries-old trees are part of the Mediterranean identity – they are a kind of pride among the inhabitants – and their fruits are highly valued.
In fact, the state authorities promote a type of tourism centered on the endemic flora of various populations.
In this sense, today visitors can live a summer and gastronomic experience around Eaia Boyb-n; locals and foreigners come to the area exclusively to see the tree, hug its trunk to, in their words, experience a powerful sense of peace or even taste its olives.
In the center of the village we can find a small and very traditional canteen, as well as the Vouves Olive Tree Museum, an enclosure that seeks to preserve and promote the relationship between the olive tree and humanity.
In 2012, a harvest event was organized for the first time in which 55 kilos of olives were harvested and oil was produced in a traditional mill. Yes, the trees are generous.
