Nablus & the ancient art of making olive soap slowly dying under the Occupation
saleh on November 26th, 2005Nablus is famous for its traditional olive soap industry which dates back many centuries. The soap is produced in stunning old buildings with exquisite architectural detail and the crumbling facade betraying its historical grandeur.
A disused Olive soap house in the centre of Nablus’s old city
Nablus’s olive soap contains over 70% olive oil and continues to be made, to this day, by hand employing centuries old skills handed down through generations.
Olive soap making in Nablus is an art, sadly an art which is slowly dying. The Occupation’s tightening stranglehold on the Palestinian economy combined with international free trade regulations have dealt a near fatal blow to the Palestinian economy.
The olive soap is laid out to solidify and then cut by hand.
The last four years have seen the closure of over 90% of the traditional olive soap industry here in Nablus. The impact has been devasting on the families whose livelihood depended on olive soap making including the sourrounding Palestinian villages who have traditionally relied on the olive soap industry for their livelihood.
Also, the traditional art of olive soap making is an essential part of Nablus’s identity and cultural heritage, this has spurred many within Nablus to find ways to restore the old olive soap buildings and find ways to market the soap to the outside world.
Whilst in Nablus I was kindly shown around one of its remaining soap making houses, it was impressive seeing the soap bieng made by hand & talking to the artisans whose families have passed down the art through the generations.
The soap is carefully arranged in towers with ventilation gaps & left to dry for a month
There was a great deal of pride & skill involved in their work, there was also much anxiety in what the future held for them.
Saleh
