Page 4 - Al Sawsan brochure

SYRIA & OLIVE OIL
Syria is known worldwide as the cradle of civilisation, and it is also argued to be the birthplace of the olive tree.
Many experts claim that the wild olive tree was first born and cultivated in Pheonicia, an ancient maritime country that was located in present-day Syria and Lebanon.
Vestiges, such as written tablets, olive pits and wood fragments, have been discovered in ancient tombs in Syria attesting of the olive tree cultivation as early as 3000 B.C.
From there, the cultivation spread to the island of Cyprus and on towards Anatolia.
The Phoenicians started propagating the olive to Greek isles via Anatolia in the 16th century B.C. Between the 14th and 12th centuries B.C. the olive was introduced to the Greek mainland, where its cultivation developed and became major in the 4th century B.C. The maritime domination of the Phoenicians introduced the olive into Spain in 1050 B.C.
The Arabs have had a major influence in the spread of the olive, by bringing their varieties with them to the South of Spain.
From the 6th century B.C. onward, the cultivation extended to Tripoli, Tunis, and the island of Sicily. It then spread from South to North Italy, from Calabria to Liguria.
When the Romans arrived in North Africa, the Berbers knew how to graft the wild olive and had already developed its cultivation throughout their territories.