Beekeeping in Turkey : How To Make Sweet, Golden Honey

Turkey ranks third of largest honey producing countries in the world and after I unexpectedly met a local beekeeper in Maral; I am surprised they are not number one. Personally, I think the bloke is mad to do the beekeeping job using his unorthodox methods but hey, this is Turkey and they do produce some of the sweetest honey on the market

There is nothing fancy about beekeeping in Turkey. That is until you learn the specifics of how they do it. As a passer-by, you will see locals have constructed large open sheds with shelves to place the hives on, away from the ground and any bears with ideas of doing a Winnie the Pooh impression. You think nothing of it but bees in this region are special.

The Pure Caucasian Queen Bee of Maçahel

Maral is part of the Maçahel province, of which half is in Turkey and the other half in Georgia. In 1998, scientists wanted to know why Maçahel was producing more and better quality honey than other regions. The answer was because the bees are pure Caucasian.

The Caucasian queen bee in particular has a longer proboscis, used to gather nectar from the plants. It also works harder than other breeds. Combine these facts with natural plants and flowers that are in abundance in Maçahel, and you have the perfect business model to create and sell top quality honey and generate employment in local communities. So the Tema project started

This beekeeper bought a queen bee from the Tema project, who help to produce more of the breed by artificially inseminating bees in a laboratory with the pure Caucasian gene. He placed her in a small box within the hive as rejection can sometimes be an issue. In between the bees and the queen bee was a small piece of cake. Over time, the cake was eaten away and the relationship between the queen and the workers grew. She was accepted and released into the hive to start work.

Due to the proven results and success of the pure Caucasian queen bee, locals can sign up for a beekeeping course with Tema, therefore embarking on a new career. Beekeepers from other regions can also purchase a queen bee and honey from Macahel is associated with quality, one jar selling for as much as 40 Turkish liras, if not more.

Equipment Needed For Beekeeping in Turkey

None! I wore no gloves, jacket, or hat with a protective hood. Dressed in a short sleeve t-shirt and trousers, hundreds of bees were swarming around my head. The constant buzzing made me nervous and when the beekeeper picked up bees by their wings, I wondered if he liked the thrill of potential pain, inflicted on his body parts.

If this had been any other place or time and I was with numerous friends, at this point, we would all be running around in circles or down the mountain screaming our heads off. The beekeeper was quite confident there was no need to panic. He has never been stung in all the years he has been doing the job and assured me the smoking tool would keep the bees calm.

If you visit the Maçahel region, do take time out to visit one of the local beekeepers. We did not arrange any appointment, just came across a man while we were walking the country roads. However, like other locals in Turkey, he gladly spent time with us and showed fantastic hospitality despite my uncontrolled enthusiasm and excitement.

If you do not manage to make it to the region, here is further reading that explains why Maçahel really does excel when it comes to beekeeping.

An American Expat who has become a beekeeper in Turkey

The Macahel Website explaining more about beekeeping in the region

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Hi. I'm Natalie, a freelance travel blogger and writer specializing in the country of Turkey. I love hot summer days, historical sites and coffee.

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Comments

Nat says
at

Hi Ehsan, this is a travel blog so sorry but can’t help you
Ehsan Alizadeh says
at

hi i’m an expert in artificial insemination of queen honey bees ,b.s in vet field ,expert in honey bee culture and producing honeybee production (honey,royal jelly,pollen,bee venom,propolis) from iran , i’m looking for a job opportunity.
Harvey Brisson says
at

I am an American. I visited Turkey two years ago and loved the country. Plan to return for another visit.
I have two bee hives as a hobby during my retirement. I enjoyed working with the bees. I was interested in the way you keep your bees. I saw large farms that had hives that were only one brew box and no supers as we call them. The super is where the honey for human consumption is stored. I really enjoyed reading this article about the caucasian queen bee. I plan to investigate to see the Caucasian breed queen is in American..
Hope to visit Turkey again in the near future.
Harvey Brisson
Virginia says
at

Hi Natalie, Thank you for responding. I am going to build something similar.
I think that the height in the front and the design allowing the floor planks to seemingly over lap over the front slightly must be it. I saw some barbed wire too but I don’t know if that is enough in itself. I’m also curious how they lift the hives to the higher levels. Hives are heavy. I winder if they have a forklift inside or something to pick the hives up and down. Where I am headed there will be bears for sure so this design was a treasure to stumble on. It’s great. Thank You for sharing this story.
Natalie says
at

I am not entirely sure but I think it is the height combined with something on the wood- seems to work – this technique has been used for generations
virginia says
at

I like the article. I am moving bees into bear country and I need to understand what keeps the bear from getting up into where the hives are located. Is it the height coupled with barbed wire that keeps the bears from getting into it? I want to build something similar but I need to understand what makes the structure bear proof. If someone can explain the answer I would really appreciate it. I want something more full proof then an electric fence. This might bee the answer if I can understand what makes the design effective.
Nat says
at

Cappadocia is not known for Bee-keeping Lina. More for their wines really. Try asking your hotel when you get there but never heard of any
Lina says
at

Hi, I was wondering if you know of any apiaries I could visit around the Cappadocia region. I’m currently doing research and would love to have the opportunity to visit an apiary during my visit to Turkey,
Thanks!
Natalie says
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You’re welcome Cat but I owed you a thank you anyway. Before I left for Macahel, I emailed you with some questions and you were very quick to respond.
Cat says
at

Thanks you too :). Just saw this – what an exciting adventure (I love Maral!). Glad you could make it to Macahel and great to see you’re writing about it. Thank you so much for including me as part of your adventure and for your kind words.
Natalie says
at

I think she is fascinating with what she is doing Joy. So original and nice to see someone doing something away from the ex pat crowds.
Joy (My Turkish Joys) says
at

Like you, I would’ve been scared of the bees…I’m so happy you’ve heard of Cat and her balyolu project in NE Turkey! Luckily, I’ve met her in Istanbul through PAWI and she is quite a fascinating young gal.

I love the honey here in Turkey, esp. the bal kaymak on a fresh loaf of bread. Yum!
Natalie says
at

I was fascinated by it all Andrew. I have never seen a Turk put it in their tea but perhaps they do it. Breakfast and on deserts are the main reasons for using it. They also like to use it for colds etc with some hot water, much like us Brits do.
Andrew says
at

That is really neat. I talked to a honey seller at a German Christmas Market last year. Beekeeping is really pretty interesting isn’t it? She was telling me they have mobile hives on a truck to get different kinds of honey from different local flowers/plants. I didn’t think that species had anzthing to do with it, but that is cool to see.

Turkey seems to use it a lot too. I remember it ended up on the table for breakfast and in a lot of desserts. Do they use it in tea or sugar?
Natalie says
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I think a lot of the Turkish honey is natural as well Di, without all the preservatives and additives. I know the honey we were eating in macahel was straight from the hive.
phil + Di marina gateway says
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nice read that one Turkish honey is sweeter than the stuff we get here i didnt no there was so much to it its something ive never really thought about next time i have honey i will think of this
and the next time i see bee hives i will walk over and have a look
Natalie says
at

I suppose that works even better Alan but maybe wakes up half the neighbour hood! 🙂 What I could not figure out is that they put the hives in trees and sheds like this, but build their houses at ground level with wooden doors. So they don’t want the bear near the honey but don’t mind it knocking down their front door!
Alan says
at

. . when J and I first came across these anti-bear constructions we were intrigued. Bears are great climbers and we couldn’t see how they could be stopped if they were determined. In years gone by they were hunted down, but that is no longer an option. A European NGO came up with a simple answer – passive infra-red sensors, floodlights and sirens. We were given a demonstration and the effect was enough to drive us away!
Some wonderful photos again.