The soap factories of Nablus are some of the oldest businesses in the world still doing the same job. Inside a factory, workers pour liquid olive oil into huge flat pans and stir in the other ingredients. The mixture heats up, sets solid, and is then cut into neat rectangles and stacked in tall towers called 'qawwaras' to dry for months.
Walking through Nablus old quarter, you pass under ancient stone arches into the souq. The air is cool and dim, and the market stalls sell the soap wrapped in paper printed with the maker's name - sometimes a family who has been doing this for five or six generations. Some families display certificates showing their soap has been sold in foreign countries for centuries.
Nablus soap is so gentle that it is used as a baby soap and even recommended by some doctors for sensitive skin. Because it contains no artificial colours or perfumes, the only scent is the light, grassy smell of olive oil itself. Today Nablus soap is sold in shops across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.