A Franco–Turkish documentary podcast promoted by ITER VITIS – Les Chemins de la Vigne en Europe
There are places where history speaks softly—through the soil, the stones, and the people who continue to shape it.
One of these places is Oylum Höyük, an ancient mound in the province of Kilis, just a few kilometres from the Syrian border. Once part of the great Hittite Empire, this land has seen millennia of human settlement, agriculture, and exchange. And somewhere between its layers of earth lie some of the earliest traces of viticulture and olive cultivation in Anatolia.
It is into this unique landscape, both fragile and deeply symbolic, that the new documentary podcast La colline du renouveau / Yenilenme Tepesi invites us.
A bridge of voices between France and Turkey
Created by Charlotte Roux and Antoine Auger (Les Passagers du Son) and produced by Micro-sillons, the 20-episode series is a bilingual French–Turkish sonic journey that blends storytelling, archaeology, and intimate testimony, part of the Kızılgöl Viticulture project.
Presented in Paris on 15 November 2025 at the Yunus Emre Enstitüsü, the podcast reveals a mosaic of voices—archaeologists who unearth the past, farmers who cultivate the land today, artisans and winemakers who carry ancestral gestures into the future.
Through them, Oylum Höyük becomes more than an archaeological site: it becomes a living memory, a crossroads where ancient agricultural knowledge still shapes the rhythm of contemporary rural life.
A heritage of grapes, olives, and resilience
Wine and olive trees are not merely crops in this story—they are symbols of continuity.
For thousands of years, they have anchored communities, offering sustenance, trade, and cultural identity.
The podcast explores:
- how grape cultivation evolved across Anatolia,
- how layers of archaeology reveal ancient rituals and everyday life
- how olive trees have become markers of resilience in a border region accustomed to change,
- how today’s inhabitants reinvent their heritage to build a sustainable future.
This delicate interplay between past and present resonates deeply with ITER VITIS, whose mission is to celebrate the vine not only as a product, but as a civilisational thread linking territories and generations.
A shared cultural adventure
The project is supported by partners committed to preserving cultural heritage and fostering cross-border dialogue:
- Ni&Ce Vineyards
- Kızılgöl Viticulture project
- Institut Français d’Études Anatoliennes (IFEA)
- Yunus Emre Institute
- The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe:
- Iter Vitis – The Vineyards Route
- European Route of Megalithic Culture
Together, they weave a collective story in which sound becomes a bridge—between Europe and the Near East, between archaeology and everyday life, between memory and imagination.
A story you can now listen to
🎧 The full podcast has been available since October 2025 on Micro-sillons.fr and all major platforms.
Each episode is an invitation to slow down, to listen, and to rediscover the emotional depth of landscapes shaped by vines, olives, and human hands.
In the coming months, ITER VITIS will accompany the project with a series of cultural encounters dedicated to Hittite heritage and its enduring influence on viticulture and Mediterranean identity.
More details will soon be shared with our community.