I think there may be several reasons why Turks like to cook with olive oil:

First of all, geographically, Turkey, as a cross bridge connecting Europe and Asia, is bordered by the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, Syria and Iraq in the southeast and the Aegean Sea in the west. Although it is an Asian country, its political, economic and cultural patterns are all European. Therefore, in terms of eating habits, it is also a European model. As far as the natural environment is concerned, olive oil is regarded as a gift from the Mediterranean. Olives originated in Syria and Israel in the Middle East, and people along the Mediterranean coast began to cultivate olives five or six thousand years ago. There is little rain here in summer and rainy and warm in winter, which is most suitable for the growth of olives and figs.

Secondly, as far as the historical origin is concerned, as early as ancient Greece, olives were regarded as a gift from God. Legend has it that Athena took out an olive branch and gave it to the olive tree in this city. Coupled with the interpretation of the olive branch by later generations, there is the interpretation of the pigeon with a newly unscrewed olive leaf in its mouth in Genesis. Therefore, the olive branch and the pigeon are regarded as symbols of peace. The ancient Greeks built colonies along the Mediterranean coast, including the famous Troy and Ephesus in Turkey today. Turks have naturally learned how to grow and process olives, and olive oil has naturally become a delicacy on the table. The earliest olive oil processing workshop appeared in Izmir area along the Aegean coast of Turkey, with a history of 1,5 years.

furthermore, as far as the edible value of olive oil is concerned, it is rich in monounsaturated fatty acid-oleic acid, as well as vitamins A, B, D, E, K and antioxidants. It has high nutritional value and health care effect, and is regarded as the most suitable oil for human nutrition.

Good olive oil determines the delicacy of Turkish food. You can dip the bread with olive oil directly, or you can cold-mix vegetables, or even drop a few drops of olive oil after all kinds of delicious food are served.

Finally, it should be noted that olives made of olive oil are different from olives made of olive snacks in China, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan and Hainan. Although domestic olives can also extract oil, they are not the olive oil used to make vegetable salad on our table. Olive, which is often used to make olive oil, belongs to Oleaceae, while olive, which is often eaten in China, belongs to Oleaceae. Today, it is still called "Zeytin" in Turkish, which sounds like "Qi Dun", just as "Qi Dun Tree, out of the Persian country, also out of the forest country, and the forest is called Qi Qi." The country of Fulin is the Byzantine Empire and its nearby areas. This shows that olive oil along the Mediterranean coast has a long history.