Aleppo Soap and the Soap Khans

A hard bar soap made from olive oil and laurel oil. Aleppo has produced it the same way for centuries, and the craft was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in December 2024. Cut one of the gold-coloured bars from the souq in half and the inside is green. That difference in colour explains the whole process.

How it is made

Olive oil, water and lye go into a large sunken vat and boil for three days over a fire lit beneath it. The laurel oil goes in at the very end. The mixture is poured across the workshop floor to cool for a day, then the bars are cut, stamped and stacked in open towers so that air passes between them. The rest is waiting: six months to a year in an underground chamber. The outside turns gold in that time while the inside stays green.

The laurel ratio

This is the one thing that sets the price. The ratio runs between 2 and 20 per cent. The higher it goes, the softer the bar, the sharper the smell and the more it costs. Ask the seller for the ratio, and if every bar gets the same answer, try another stall.

Where to see it

Khan al-Sabun in the Al-Madina souq was built at the start of the 16th century and took its name from the trade; for a long time it was one of the centres of production. Soap is still sold stall by stall in this part of the souq, and the stamp pressed into each bar names the maker. The khan and its surroundings are part of the souq repairs, so which section is open can change.

What most people miss

Ask for a bar cut open. Well-cured soap has yellowed on the outside and is still olive green inside, and a freshly cut face shows you that at a glance.