Lebanese Olive Oil?

Don’t sound so surprised. Many people mistakenly believe Lebanon is an arid land filled with deserts and camels. Actually, Lebanon--whose entire western coastline is the Mediterranean Sea--has no deserts or camels (at least not native ones) and is extremely green and fertile, enjoying a beautiful Mediterranean climate. 

More importantly, we bet you didn’t know that the area known as present-day Lebanon is where the olive tree originated from! You read that right. The olive tree is native to Lebanon, with cultivation of the olive tree beginning in Lebanon around 6000 B.C. (8,000 years ago!). The Phoenicians, one of the ancient inhabitants of modern Lebanon, are also the ones to thank for introducing the olive tree to the other countries in the Mediterranean. As far back as 1600 B.C. the Phoenicians introduced the olive trees to Greece, Cyprus, Italy, southern France, Spain and North Africa.

In fact, the oldest olive trees in the world, a group of 16 olive trees named ‘The Sisters’ or the ‘Sister Olive Trees of Noah’, are located in the Northern Lebanese town of Bchaaleh. It is believed that they are 6000 years old (which would make them not only the oldest olive trees in the world, but the oldest trees in the world)!

FUN FACT: It is widely believed that The Sisters are the source of the olive branch returned in the beak of the dove to Noah’s Ark, signaling the end of the Biblical Flood. 

So yes -- Lebanese olive oil! Have you tried it yet?