Nabulsi soap ( ar, صابون نابلسي, ''ṣābūn Nābulsi'') is a type of
castile soap produced only in
Nablus in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, Palestine.
Its chief ingredients are virgin olive oil (the main agricultural product of the region), water, and an
alkaline sodium compound. The finished product is ivory-colored and has almost no scent. Traditionally made by women for household use, it had become a significant industry for Nablus by the 14th century. In 1907 the city's 30 Nabulsi soap factories were supplying half the soap in Palestine. The industry declined during the mid-20th century following the destruction caused by the
1927 Jericho earthquake and later disruption from the
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i military occupation. As of 2008, only two soap factories survive in Nablus. The old Arafat soap factory has been turned into a Cultural Heritage Enrichment Center.
History
![Tristram142a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Tristram142a.jpg)
Nabulsi soap was traditionally made by women for household use, even before the appearance of small soap-making factories in the 10th century.
Trade with
Bedouins was indispensable for soap-making, both in Nablus and
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
, since they alone could furnish the alkaline soda (''qilw'') required by the process. By the 14th century a significant soap-making industry had developed in Nablus and the soap, reputedly prized by
Queen Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eliz ...
,
[ was exported throughout the Middle East and to Europe.
The 19th century saw a major expansion of soap manufacturing in Nablus, which became the center of soap production throughout the ]Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, southeastern region of ...
. By 1907, the city's 30 factories were producing nearly 5,000 tons of Nabulsi soap annually, over half of all soap production in Palestine.[Philipp and Schäbler, 1998, p. 284.][Doumani, 1995]
Rediscovering Palestine
/ref> John Bowring
Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...
wrote of Nabulsi soap in the 1830s that it was "highly esteemed in the Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
," and Muhammad Kurd Ali, a Syrian historian, wrote in the 1930s that "Nablus soap is the best and most famous soap today for it has, it seems, a quality not found in others and the secret is that it is unadulterated and well produced."
The soap industry in Nablus began to decline in the mid-20th century, caused in part by natural disasters, especially a 1927 earthquake, which destroyed much of the Old City of Nablus, and in part by Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i military occupation. Israeli military raids
Raiding, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose. Raiders do not capture and hold a location, but quickly retreat to a previous defended position before enemy forces can respond ...
during the Second Intifada destroyed several soap factories in the historic quarter of Nablus. Several soap factories remain in Nablus; currently, products are sold primarily in Palestine and the Arab countries, with some fair-trade exports to Europe and beyond. On the continuing problems both in terms of the soap's manufacture and its export, the General Manager of the factory owned by the Touqan family commented in 2008:
Before 2000, our factory used to produce 600 tons of soap annually. Due to the physical and economic obstacles we face now because of the Israeli occupation – and especially the checkpoints – we produce barely half that amount today.
According to the , the checkpoints and roadblocks set up throughout the West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
have created problems in the transportation of supplies and material to and from the factories as well as making it difficult for workers to get from their homes to the factories.[ However, Nabulsi soap is still widely sold in Nablus and the West Bank. It is also exported to ]Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, and Arab-Israeli cities such as Nazareth.
Considered an important aspect of Nablus's cultural heritage, the preservation of the Nabulsi soap-making industry has been the focus of several local projects, including the restoration and conversion of the old Arafat soap factory into a Cultural Heritage Enrichment Center. The center has research and exhibition facilities and includes a small model soap factory that makes Nabulsi soap using traditional methods. Project Hope
Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is an international global health and humanitarian aid non-governmental organization founded in the United States in 1958. Project HOPE works in five main areas: disasters and health cri ...
and other local non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
s market the soap in the West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
to raise funds for their other community projects.[
]
Production process
Like Castile soap, the chief ingredients of Nabulsi soap are virgin olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
, water, and an alkaline sodium compound. The compound is made by mixing the powdered ashes of the barilla
''Barilla'' refers to several species of salt-tolerant (halophyte) plants that, until the 19th century, were the primary source of soda ash and hence of sodium carbonate. The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash obtained ...
plant (''qilw''), which grows along the banks of the River Jordan
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
, with locally supplied lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
(''sheed''). The sodium compound is then heated with water and olive oil in large copper vats over fermentation pits. The solution of water and sodium compound becomes increasingly concentrated in a series of 40 cycles repeated over eight days. During that time, an oar-shaped wooden tool known as a ''dukshab'' is used to stir the liquid soap continuously. The liquid soap is then spread in wooden frames to set. After setting, it is cut into the classic cube shape of Nabulsi soap and stamped with the company's trademark seal. The soap cubes then undergo a drying process that can last from three months to a year and involves stacking them in ceiling-high structures resembling cones with hollow centers that allow the air to circulate around them.
The finished product is ivory-colored and has almost no scent. (Perfumes are never used in Nabulsi soap.) Before leaving the factory, the individual cubes that are to be sold locally are wrapped by hand in paper that is waxed on one side. Cubes that are destined for export are left unwrapped and usually dispatched in stiff sacks to protect them from damage.
Gallery
File:22-Nablusi-9272 s.jpg
File:Shakaa - L'ultimo saponificio di Nablus.jpg
File:Saponificio di Nablus.jpg
File:ختم الصابون النابلسي.jpg
File:Camel factory Nablus December 2008.JPG, Soap stacks inside the Touqan factory in Nablus in 2008
See also
* African black soap
* Aleppo soap
* Castile soap
*Marseille soap
Marseille soap or ''Savon de Marseille'' () is a traditional hard soap made from vegetable oils that has been produced around Marseille, France, for about 600 years. The first documented soapmaker was recorded there in about 1370. By 1688, Loui ...
* Palestinian handicrafts
*Vegan soap
Vegan soaps (or vegetable soaps) are soaps made from fats or oils of vegetable origin rather than from saponified animal fats. The Vegan Society's definition of veganism encourages consumers to avoid all products containing ingredients derived fr ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
Nabulsi Soap - Nablus The Culture
Witness, A documentary that profiles 3 businesses in Nablus
including one of the two remaining Nabulsi soap makers.
{{good article
10th-century establishments in Asia
Economy of the State of Palestine
Nablus
Palestinian handicrafts
Soaps
Arab culture
Palestinian inventions