A Thousands Years of Soap-Making in Palestine

Updated 2026
For more than a thousand years, soap-making has been part of everyday life in Palestine — not as an industry alone, but as a living tradition tied to land, labor, and community.

Historical records show that by the early 13th century, Nablus had already become a major center for soap production. One of the most well-known accounts comes from Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Abi Talib al-Ansari, known as al-Maqdisi, who visited the city around the year 1200. He wrote about the scale of soap production and praised Nablus as a city “surrounded by orchards, divinely blessed with the olive tree.”

While the exact origin of soap-making in Palestine is unknown, archaeological evidence shows that soap recipes similar to today’s Nablusi soap existed in ancient Iraq more than 4,500 years ago — made from oil, water, and alkaline salts. What made Nablus unique was not invention, but environment. By a thousand years ago, the city had all the conditions needed for the craft to flourish: abundant olive oil, skilled labor, and strong trade connections.

Olive oil from Nablus was exported across the region and used in places as significant as the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Over time, Nablusi soap became known not only locally, but across the Mediterranean.

During the Crusader period, the soap industry became so valuable that it was turned into a royal monopoly. Factory owners were allowed to operate only through contracts with the King of Jerusalem, paying regular fees in exchange for permission to produce. Even under foreign rule, the craft remained deeply rooted in Palestinian hands.

This long history set the foundation for what Nablusi soap would become: not just a product, but a marker of Palestinian continuity.