Aleppo soap (also known as savon d'Alep, laurel soap, Syrian soap, or ghar soap, the Arabic word "غَار", meaning 'laurel') is a handmade, hard bar soap associated with the city of Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo soap is classified as a Castile soap as it is a hard soap made from olive oil and lye, from which it is distinguished by the inclusion of laurel oil.
The origin of Aleppo soap is unknown. Unverified claims of its great antiquity abound, such as its supposed use by Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and Queen Zenobia of Syria. It is commonly thought that the process of soap-making emanated from the Levant region (of which Aleppo is a main city) and to have moved west from there to Europe after the first Crusades. This is based on the claim that the earliest soap made in Europe was shortly after the Crusades, but soap was known to the Romans in the first century AD and Zosimos of Panopolis described soap and soapmaking in c. 300 AD.
Traditional Aleppo soap is made with olive oil, laurel berry oil (zeit ghar), water and lye, while the relative concentration of laurel oil (typically 2–20%) determines the quality and cost of the soap.
Today most Aleppo soap, especially that containing more than 16% of laurel oil, is exported to Europe and East Asia.
Source: Aleppo soap - Wikipedia
The origin of Aleppo soap is unknown. Unverified claims of its great antiquity abound, such as its supposed use by Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and Queen Zenobia of Syria. It is commonly thought that the process of soap-making emanated from the Levant region (of which Aleppo is a main city) and to have moved west from there to Europe after the first Crusades. This is based on the claim that the earliest soap made in Europe was shortly after the Crusades, but soap was known to the Romans in the first century AD and Zosimos of Panopolis described soap and soapmaking in c. 300 AD.
Traditional Aleppo soap is made with olive oil, laurel berry oil (zeit ghar), water and lye, while the relative concentration of laurel oil (typically 2–20%) determines the quality and cost of the soap.
Today most Aleppo soap, especially that containing more than 16% of laurel oil, is exported to Europe and East Asia.
Local guide Nabil Mallah explains the different qualities and prices of Aleppo soap
Source: Aleppo soap - Wikipedia