1. Use and origin of linseed oil
The morphology and climatic conditions of Cappadocia do not help olive trees flourish. That is why the people used linseed instead of olive oil. The available evidence about its production refers mainly to the 19th and 20th century. It was produced through special processing of various seeds. The most common and best, with respect to quality, seed was zeyrek, which also gave the famous oil bezir. Roka, a type of maize, and were often used as raw materials. Zeyrek was farmed mainly by Muslims and bought by Christians. Its oil, bezir, was used mainly for cooking. Before they used it, they washed it with scalding hot water it in order to shake off the bitter taste. Linseed oil was also used for lighting lamps and lubricating the machines owned by the communities.
2. Production process
2.1. Roasting and grinding
This was the first stage in linseed production. After zeyrek was collected, it was taken to a special oven consisting of two internal spaces of different size. A fire was lit in the smaller space so that the adjacent bigger space could be heated. Zeyrek was put and stirred there while it was being roasted. Then the mixture was grinded in a specially prepared threshing floor. The roasted zeyrek was put there and, when the grinding process was completed, water was poured. Then the resulting mixture, the so-called ‘zymar’ (paste in Greek), was taken to the ‘perzichanedes’ (from the Turkish bezirhane, that is, linseed oil press).
2.2. Pressing
This is the second stage in linseed oil production. The baskets with the ‘zymar’ were drenched and put at the bottom of the press. After being pressed, linseed oil was collected in a large jar. The most productive presses of Cappadocia were in the settlements of Gelveri, Sivrihisar, Halva Dere, Kara Coren, Kermir, Trochos, Malakopi, Enehil, Talaş and Axo.
3. The mechanism of the press
The mechanism of the press consisted of the following components:
a) two large, thick, long and heavy beams ("dokia")
b) a wall called "mangan' golos", where the two beams were bedded
c) the baskets, built at the bottom of the wall
d) a large stone like a millstone, where the baskets stood; around the stone there was a ditch for the collection of oil
e) a large jar planted in the ground, in which oil was poured from the ditch
f) the ‘agracht’, a large vertical beam, usually made by special craftsmen from Floita; it was chiselled like a screw and standing on a large and heavy stone
g) the ‘agrosacht’, a log fitted like a nut in the agracht; the beams were mounted on it
h) the ‘zy’, a wooden beam that rotated the ‘agracht’; it was pivoted by two or more people or an ox
The rotation of the ‘zy’ activated the ‘agrácht’ and, through this, the mounted ‘agrosacht’. The latter moved the beams, which pressed the baskets that were built at the foot of the wall, where the beams were bedded. With the help of pressure, linseed oil was released from the ‘zymar’ and, through the ditch, it was poured from the baskets to the large jar.
4. Τhe people
The owners of the presses and the workers who worked at them were called ‘bezirtzides’ (from the Turkish bezirci). The name was derived from bezir, the linseed oil. There were bezircis in most of the villages, while those from Axo were considered the best. When the bezircis from Axo toured in order to serve the needs of other villages, the inhabitants welcomed them cheerfully. Both the Christians and the Muslims owned presses. They often became partners. The workers working in the presses were seasonal and were usually paid in kind. Their boss gave them an amount of linseed oil, which they put in skinbags and sold in the nearby villages, where they toured. The most famous press manufacturers came from Floita; they were both Christians and Muslims. They were much in demand and toured several villages of Cappadocia in order to manufacture presses. |