Mugla, Home Country ofPine Honey …


Pine honey is nature itself and is produced under natural conditions. Its source is the large pine forests in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions, especially in Mugla. Approximately 90% of the world pine honey production is in our country and 75-80% of our country's pine honey is produced in Mugla.

Honey is the sweetest, oldest and most important food in the world. Before coming to know the secret of honey, it is necessary to get to know the main heroes of this sweet adventure…

The taste masters who transform the nectar from the flowers into miracles and present them in hexagonal honeycombs weaved with flawless workmanship… 

The winged miracles of nature, flawless honey workers, bees… When it comes to pine honey, it would be unfair to forget to mention the insect, the Marchalina Hellenica, which undertakes most of the work as it feeds on branches of the pine tree and its body produces a sweet secretion known as honeydew in order to survive. This sugary secretion is then collected by honey bees; converted by them to the honey and then dehumidified.

Very viscous, pine honey has a darker colour than flower honey. Its most important feature is that it can be stored; without deteriorating its consistency or crystallizing for a long time.

Beekeeping is carried out as migratory beekeeping throughout Mugla. In other words; a beekeeping model is preferred that is done by changing pollen and nectar by changing at least 4-5 places during the year. There are 1,2 million bee colonies, which belong to Mugla beekeepers. During the pine honey production period, with the participation of guest beekeepers coming from outside the province, approximately 3-3.5 million hives pine honey production is realized. This figure corresponds to 40-45% of the number of bees in the country. To sum up; during the pine honey production period, almost half of the country's bees participate in pine honey production in Mugla. 

Mugla proves its claim in this area as Mugla Pine Honey had been licensed its pine honey with “geographical indication” by the initiatives of the Association of Mugla Beekeepers (MAYBIR). Annual production of pine honey in Mugla is between 20-30 thousand tons.

As Mugla has a say in the field of pine honey production; a museum; Mugla Beekeeping Museum, is also being established in Mugla with the initiatives of MAYBIR to introduce the existing culture of beekeeping from past to present, to transfer it to future generations and to serve our country's cultural tourism.

Century-old materials used by beekeepers and honey making models are on display at Mugla Beekeeping Museum. We witnessed the adventure of honey in the museum tour accompanied by the delightful narration of Yasin Kirgiz, the Managing Director of the Association, and Ayse Simsek, the Agriculture engineer.

At the museum, the following subjects are told by using models; how the beekeepers used to harvest honey, how the honeycomb used to be formed, how the beehives used to be transported from village to village on animal ridges and also the difficulties the bees have on their honey journey. The transparent glass tank in the museum allows visitors to watch the honey-making stages of bees. The museum also includes beekeeping tools and materials used by beekeepers during the history of beekeeping such as; earthen bee smokers with bellows, augers, copper bee smokers with bellows, eagle-wing-shaped bellows, small primitive hives, honey pots, hand drills, harvesting knives, wooden primitive hives and so on.

The museum tells about the adventure and lifestyle of beekeeping from past to present and serves cultural tourism as well as the sector. Within the scope of private museums under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Beekeeping Museum of Mugla, which is established on an area of 230 square meters with 118 works exhibited, aims to highlight the world-famous pine honey and the beekeeping in Mugla.

There is also an area where honey products are promoted and sold in the museum, which is open to visitors between 08:30-17:30 on weekdays and 09:00-14:00 on weekends.