Sarmin, the Ismaili Soap Town East of Idlib

A town 7-9 kilometres east of Idlib, at the foot of Jabal al-Ala. The relationship used to run the other way: Idlib was once a village belonging to Sarmin. What makes the town worth a visit is its layers: Roman cisterns, caves cut into the rock, old stone-paved lanes, two old bathhouses, and the story of a soap that travelled as far as Cairo in the Middle Ages.

Sarmin in the Middle Ages

In the 13th century the Aleppan historian Ibn al-Adim described Sarmin as a city with wide lands: it had a Friday mosque and markets, and its stone wall was in ruins. It was said to have once had 360 mosques, but in his day prayers were held only in the Friday mosque. Most of its people were Ismailis, and the town had a mission house, a centre for Ismaili preaching.

Yaqut al-Hamawi also records that the people were Ismailis. Abu al-Fida notes that the land was very fertile and the town had no walls.

The Crusaders and al-Zahir Ghazi

The Franks took Sarmin in 1106, and it was retaken in 1120. In Saladin’s time his son al-Zahir Ghazi besieged the Frankish castle at Sarmin, took its surrender and had it demolished.

Ibn Battuta’s soap

In the 14th century Ibn Battuta described the town’s olive groves and its soap. Soap cut into bricks went to Damascus and Cairo, and a perfumed soap coloured red and yellow was also made. The town also produced cotton cloth.

Under the Mamluks the large village of Binnish, which belonged to Sarmin, was endowed to the Arghun Bimaristan, the hospital in Aleppo.

What is in town

Arabic sources mention two old bathhouses: Hammam al-Maliha and Hammam al-Daraj. A single map entry dates Hammam al-Daraj to AH 1139, that is 1726-1727; we could not confirm this from another source. The town also has traces of soap and weaving workshops, caves cut into the rock, Roman cisterns and old stone-paved lanes. We do not know whether the bathhouses still stand or are open.

The town’s 13th-century mosque, the Great Mosque of Sarmin, has its own page.

How long it takes

An hour and a half for the old lanes, the outside of the bathhouses and the Great Mosque.

Before you go

Sarmin was close to the front line in 2019-2020 and was shelled many times. Unexploded ordnance remains a risk across Idlib governorate: do not enter ruined buildings, caves or cisterns without someone local. Roads and checkpoints change; check the current situation before you set out.

Don’t miss

The rock-cut caves. They show the town’s Roman and medieval layers most clearly; ask in town which quarter they are in.