The Ancient Art of Nabulsi Soap: Palestine's Most Famous Export

Long before olive oil became a global wellness trend, the city of Nablus was producing what many consider the finest soap in the world. Nabulsi soap — made from Palestinian olive oil, water, and lye — has been manufactured in the same city for over a thousand years. It was traded across the Ottoman Empire, prized in courts from Istanbul to Cairo, and carried by pilgrims and merchants along routes that no longer exist.

Today it is still made in Nablus, by families who have been doing it for generations.

What Makes Nabulsi Soap Different

Traditional Nabulsi soap is left to cure for months before using — sometimes years for the finest grades. The longer it cures, the harder and more effective it becomes. The bars we carry are properly cured, genuinely made in Nablus, and all use Palestinian olive oil.

A Historic Industry Under Pressure

At its peak, Nablus had over thirty soap factories. Today a handful remain. The industry has been squeezed by decades of occupation — restrictions on movement, access to markets, and the import of cheaper alternatives have taken their toll. Every bar of Nabulsi soap sold abroad is a small act of support for an industry that has survived against considerable odds.

We source our soaps from two Nablus producers: Touqal and Bader. Both are family operations, both use traditional methods, and both are committed to keeping this craft alive.

Al Bader Soap Factory in the Old City of Nablus.

Our Range

We carry the classic olive oil castile bar alongside variants made with goat's milk, camel's milk, Dead Sea minerals-rich mud— all made in Nablus, all genuinely what they say they are.