A Transformation Story in Southern Turkey on the Conservation of Cultural Heritage: The Tokacli (Hatay) Olive Oil Museum

ABSTRACT This article examines how the olive oil factory in Altınözü, Hatay, which has kept its original features but lost its functionality, was conserved and transformed into a museum. It explores the history of olive oil production in the region as well as the link between this history and the region it took place in. This study focuses on the refunctioning, refurbishment, and redesign of the factory as a museum. Within this scope, all the stages that comprise this process were examined, for the building itself was intended for exhibition after restoration, just like the entire process of olive oil production. Previous studies have emphasized the importance of restitution and restoration in the transformation process which aimed to put the olive oil mill, which is a cultural property, into use again. Apart from designing the museum as a mill which functioned in the past and transferring knowledge only in this direction, the purpose was to offer a holistic approach and emphasize the obvious effect of the olive and olive oil on the culture. The museum is situated in the only Arabic-Orthodox Christian district in Turkey, where the locals have tried for many years to maintain the olive tasting tradition known as ‘zinnane’. This study examines the sustainable development and transformation processes those cultural properties go through by focusing on the redesign of the oil factory in Hatay-Altınözü as a museum and the effect of this transformation on the region as a tourist destination.