Skip to main content
Radar Türkiye
Discover events in the app
Open
Radar Türkiye
Stone Pines and Upland Villages on the Kozak Plateau
Cultural

Stone Pines and Upland Villages on the Kozak Plateau

No ratings yet

Sign in to like and rate

Most travellers who come to Bergama spend the day between the Acropolis and the Asklepion and leave without a glance at the mountain rising northwest of town.

Bergama, İzmir
Cultural
Radar Editör
October 15, 2026

About Trip

Most travellers who come to Bergama spend the day between the Acropolis and the Asklepion and leave without a glance at the mountain rising northwest of town. Yet the old mountain road that links Bergama to Ayvalık opens, after a few bends, onto an entirely different landscape: hilltops shaded by stone pines spread like umbrellas, villages of stone houses scattered among them, and granite boulders. This is the Kozak Plateau. This piece is not about the ancient city but about the upland behind it, for those who want to spend a day in the shade of the stone pines, wandering from village to village.

Where the plateau lies and how high it is

Turkish Wikipedia describes the Kozak Plateau as an upland between the district centres of Bergama and Ayvalık, beginning about twenty kilometres from Bergama. It stretches across the foothills of Mount Madra; a travel article in Cumhuriyet calls Madra a mountain as important to the northern Aegean as the Kaz Mountains and describes Kozak as the oxygen source of Ayvalık. Sources give different figures for its altitude. Wikipedia and Milliyet speak of a height ranging from five hundred to a thousand metres above sea level; Hürriyet's travel page writes that after the road climbs to about nine hundred metres the plateau spreads out before you like a sea. The geographical indication certificate of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office states that the stone pine forests climb up to seven hundred and forty metres on granitic soils. These figures do not contradict each other; the plateau is not a single flat expanse but a whole of villages and forests spread across different elevations.

An article in Milliyet reports that the plateau takes its name from the pine cone. I found no other source on the origin of the name, so it is best read as a local explanation.

The plateau of the stone pine

Kozak's identity is shaped by the stone pine. Following an application by the Bergama Chamber of Commerce, the name Bergama Kozak Pine Nut was registered as a protected designation of origin on 10 June 2011. The Kozak type nut defined in the certificate is plump, large, light cream in colour and soft in texture. The certificate links the quality of the product to the region's soil: the plateau is a metamorphic landscape counted among the oldest parts of the earth's crust, with highly permeable soils developed on granite, gneiss and schist that suit the stone pine. Because the stone pine grows a deep taproot it needs deep soil. The rainfall and humidity of the Mediterranean climate meet the tree's needs; but, as the certificate warns, in dry and very hot years the large kernel weakens and its tip turns yellow.

The same certificate lists the geographical boundary: the Bergama neighbourhoods of Terzihaliller, Yukarıcuma, Yukarıbey, Aşağıbey, Aşağıcuma, Ayvatlar, Çamavlu, Demircidere, Okçular, Göbeller, Güneşli, Hacıhamzalar, Hisar, Kaplan, Karaveliler and Kıranlı. Touring Kozak really means wandering among these villages.

The certificate also describes the path from cone to table. The cones gathered from the trees are locally called küner; they are weighed and stored, washed and left to rest, then sorted by size, and in cracking rollers the shell is separated from the kernel. The kernels are spread in a thin layer in crates and dried naturally for a few days, their skins are removed with brushes, off-type kernels are sorted out, and after a final drying they are packed. Inspection of the geographical indication is carried out at least once a year by a board coordinated by the Bergama Chamber of Commerce, with the district agriculture directorate and the chamber of agriculture also taking part.

A news item from the İzmir Regional Directorate of Forestry says the plateau supplies seventy per cent of Turkey's pine nut production and calls it, in effect, the country's pine nut store; the share may vary from year to year with the yield. The Regional Directorate of Forestry reports that the private afforestation area allocated to the village legal entity in Karaveliler has reached six hundred and sixty two hectares, and that these forests, planted between 1992 and 2011, now provide income to hundreds of households. During the cone harvest villagers climb trees many metres high. Yields have fallen over the past decade; according to Anadolu Agency, the General Directorate of Forestry launched a project in 2019, which found that a seed pest called Leptoglossus occidentalis, which entered Turkey in 2012, plays a significant part in the loss of yield. As part of biological control, eggs of parasitoids bred against this insect were placed on marked trees in Karaveliler. If you see markings on tree trunks as you walk, leave them alone; they may be research trees.

Getting there

The easiest way to reach Kozak is to come to Bergama first. There are bus services from İzmir to Bergama; check departure times with the bus terminal or the operating companies before you set out. I found no information in the sources about regular and frequent public transport from Bergama up to the plateau; Milliyet writes that it is possible to go by taxi. Bearing in mind that the plateau is not a single spot, the most comfortable option for moving between villages is your own car or one hired for the day. Hürriyet describes the road like this: leaving Bergama you first see a historic aqueduct, then the road climbs gradually among black pines and picnic areas. The same road continues all the way to Ayvalık; Hürriyet adds that the Kozak Road is a favourite of off-road drivers and hikers.

What to see

A report published by Yeni Asır in autumn 2026 describes Kozak not as a single sight but as a whole made up of villages, forests, picnic spots and viewpoints. That is an accurate description. On the plateau it is less about reaching a particular destination than about stopping and looking along the way. Hürriyet singles out Demircidere for its suitability for upland tourism and Aşağıcuma and Yukarıbey for their natural richness. Yukarıbey, as Yeni Asır also suggests, is a good centre for a short break; you can watch village life and look at local produce.

A notable stop along the road is the statue of Atatürk seated on top of a large boulder. According to the travel article in Cumhuriyet, the statue was commissioned by Süha Şen, a retired teacher living in Germany, and it is one of the most visited places on the plateau. The scene in the cover photograph is from this spot: a dirt road, umbrella-shaped stone pines and granite boulders.

Kozak is not only a pine nut plateau. According to BirGün, large areas of the district once grew table grapes called Kozak Black and Kozak White; when the stone pine earned more, the vineyards fell into the background. İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and the Manisa Viticulture Research Institute set up demonstration vineyards with growers in Demircidere and Aşağıbey to revive these two local varieties. If you tour the plateau at the end of summer you may come across these new vineyards.

Granite is another face of the plateau. Hürriyet writes that the granite quarries in the area are, together with livestock, among the livelihoods of the local people. You may see quarry trucks and their dust on the road; drive carefully, especially on narrow village roads.

A walking suggestion

I could not confirm from the sources that a marked, official hiking trail exists at Kozak. My suggestion is therefore short walks you can manage on your own. Yeni Asır recommends short walks among the stone pines and picnic breaks, especially for families with children; with older children these can be extended. A practical plan could be this: leave your car in a village square or a safe lay-by, follow one of the forest tracks among the pines for about an hour, and come back the same way. Slopes covered in pine needles are slippery; wear shoes with a good grip. Keep your walk to open forest tracks rather than pine nut groves; the trees are the villagers' livelihood, so leave the cones alone.

Hürriyet writes that the plateau is suitable for nature walks, photography, and plant and bird watching. The broad, flat crowns of the stone pines look monotonous in midday light; early in the morning and in the late afternoon the shadows of the trees lengthen and the texture of the granite boulders stands out. Choose these two times for photography.

Season and time of day

Kozak's altitude gives it a marked coolness compared with Bergama in the summer heat; the Cumhuriyet article describes the plateau as an escape for those worn out by the heat of the city. Spring is ideal for forest walks. Autumn may be the liveliest season on the plateau; the Regional Directorate of Forestry's report describes the bustle of harvest in the villages in autumn. In winter road conditions on the higher sections can change; check the weather before you set out. Make good use of daylight: the roads between villages are narrow and winding, and driving them in the dark is tiring.

Combining it with Bergama

Yeni Asır suggests Kozak can be planned together with a visit to Bergama: touring Bergama's historic sites in the morning and going up to the plateau in the afternoon, or devoting the whole day to Yukarıbey and the surrounding villages. For a longer weekend the same road descends to Ayvalık, so Bergama, Kozak and Ayvalık come together on a single route. This piece suggests giving the plateau a full day; the ancient city deserves a separate one.

Getting to know the area

The Kozak table is set with pine nuts. The Cumhuriyet article mentions halva made from the region's pine nuts and the so-called cilveli tea, into which roasted pine nuts are dropped. Hürriyet writes that the weddings often held in the villages in summer are the warmest way to get to know the area. Shops and businesses in the villages are limited; if you want to buy local produce, look in the village squares and at the growers by the roadside.

Practical notes

  • As Yeni Asır warns, the plateau does not have as dense a network of businesses as a city; buy water, food and everything children need in Bergama.
  • Bring comfortable shoes, a hat, sunscreen and a change of clothes.
  • The risk of forest fire is high throughout the summer; do not light fires in the forest, do not throw cigarette ends, and use only the permitted picnic areas.
  • Do not pick cones or nuts from the trees; most of the forests are the villagers' livelihood.
  • Ask people's permission when taking photographs in the villages.

Sources

Location - Stone Pines and Upland Villages on the Kozak Plateau

Trip Info
CityBergama, İzmir
TypeCultural
DateOctober 15, 2026
SourceRadar Editör
Radar TürkiyeAuthorRadar TürkiyeVisit SourceGet Directions