About Aleppo, Syria
Aleppo is the oldest inhabited city in the world. Or is it? In fact it’s a hotly disputed claim, with the other major claimant being Damascus, also of course in Syria. So obviously we’re backing Aleppo, since that’s where Aleppo Gold comes from.
At the crossroads of two-thousand-year-old trade routes, Aleppo has been ruled by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes and Ottomans and is now the second-largest city in modern-day Syria. Architectural and cultural delights include the 13th-century citadel, the 12th-century Great Mosque and various 17th-century madrasas, palaces, caravanserais and hammams. Aleppo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you visit the website of one of the market-leading soap brands you will learn that “in 1813, the French chemist Chevreul discovered that the animal fat used in soap could be substituted with vegetable oils . . . a discovery that revolutionised the making of soap.”
Which is odd, when you consider that olive oil has been used to make soap in the Levant for more than 2,000 years and possibly a lot longer. And odder still, when you learn from their ingredient lists that major soaps such as Lux and Imperial Leather still contain “sodium tallowate”, which is Euro-code for soap derived from animal fat! Even Palmolive (which you might hope would be made out of palm and olive oils) and the “minimalist” healthy-sounding Simple Soap are both made principally from animal fat.
About Soap
In fact Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) made significant discoveries in the field of fats and oils, but not that one. By the way, he was the first to identify and name “margarine”!
The history of soap-making in Aleppo is nothing if not vague and just when the industry achieved major proportions in Aleppo is not exactly known; certainly several hundred years ago there was an established industry based in the many small workshops concentrated in the Bab Qinnisrin area of Aleppo that formed the basis of what is today one of the city’s most important products.
Today there are 26 producers large enough to be listed by the Syrian-European Business Centre (SEBC) and many smaller and purely domestic ones besides.
How is Aleppo Gold Soap made?
In a skilled process, olive oil is converted to soap (saponified) and then bay leaf extract is added and the product is spread out to solidify before being cut by hand into rectangular bars and individually stamped. The bars are then dried in huge aerated stacks for several months after production and the outer surface of the olive green soap goes a gentle brown through oxidation.
Aleppo Gold Olive Oil & Bay Leaf Soaps are a 100% natural products.
Wholesale
We can supply Aleppo Gold Soaps to the trade customers in the UK: For example Retail Shops, Boutiques, Gift Shops, Bridal Shops, Florists, Hotels and Guest Houses, Health Spas, Beauty Salons etc
If you are interested in selling Aleppo Gold products then please e-mail or write to us providing us with the following information: Your Company name and address and some information regarding the nature of your business to rosie@isellonline.co.uk or give us a call on 0845 0047355 and we will provide you with trade prices.
Ingredients info:
All of our soaps are 100% plant-based, made with natural raw materials.
Our soap producers use only pure natural Olive Oil, Laurel Oil (Bay leaf Extract)
NO Animal Fats,
NO Artificial Chemicals,
NO Artificial Colourings or Preservatives
NO Sodium Lauryl Sulphate.
NO Lanolin,
NO Artificial Perfumes.
All soaps are Biodegradable and Completely Vegetarian.Â
The Basis of all Solid Olive Oils Soaps by our producer:
88.6% Total Olils,
88.6% Olive Oil,
8.2% Moisture,Â
0.21% Free Alkali,
0.72% Chlorides as NaCl
0.13% Insoluble in alcohol Â
0.92% unsaponifiable matter
Product Selection
