Lavender fields not far from Antalya region

Turkey may not be the first think to pop at your mind if start talking about lavender, but it has its own region that produces 90% of all lavender in country. Time for people to get familiar with secret village of Kuyucak has come.

Located in Turkey, Isparta province, which is by the chance famous for rose cultivation. It all began with Zeki Konur in 1975. That merchant distributed lavender seeds from France up to 30 families. At the beginning seedlings were planted on the rose fields, but by the 1990 families began to cultivate purple flower for commercial means. From the first seedlings till our days, more than 3,000 hectares of lavender fields are successfully cultivated for different needs.

Beginning burgeoning in June, lavender fields fully blossom on third week of July, that time whole area colors with a beautiful purple shine, witch instalovers hunt so much for. Therefore, scent spreads far far from the fields, filling up the whole province.

In August, harvest starts. During harvesting the flowers are carefully cut from the middle of the stem to encourage further growth for the next season. Knowing the fact, that lavender don’t need so much water to survive, and the fact, that one root can bloom over and over for up to 20 years the fields of this unique plant in Koyacak has been quite a prolific undertaking.

Lavender essential oil has an important place in Turkey’s pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. The amount of lavender production, which was 400 tons in 2015, reached 747 tons last year with an 87 percent increase in production. Harvesting that amount of fields, takes about month under +40 degrees sun. That work requires patience and hard work. Most of lavender is proceed into cosmetics. When the rest is dried to sold to various firms around the country. Of course, for visitors there’s also plenty of lavender-based shopping to be done including delicious lavender honey, lavender tea, dried lavender, lavender oil, lavender tonic, and lavender soap.

Lavender honey

Lavender honey production is provided from the lavender gardens of the Kuyucak village, distinguished among other types of honey for its pleasant smell, taste and lightness. Thus, it is highly preferred among consumers and considered a delicious type of honey, regarded by nutritionists as healthy with low amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is rich in amino acids, minerals and Vitamin C. Lavender honey enters the bloodstream with ease, boosting energy levels by creating an assimilation effect.

Lavender tea

Dried or fresh lavender is left in boiled water for about three to four minutes to brew. It is known that the tea obtained from “lavandin,” a type of lavender which grows especially in the Kuyucak village, which is very useful in the prevention of Hepatitis B and the fattening of the liver when consumed in a 15-day cycle.

Lavender pillow

The lavender pillow is recommended for people who suffer from sleeping problems especially due to the sedative effect of lavender. They are also used as infant cushions for babies to sleep comfortably.