Soap industry in the Lebanese coast is as old as olives. The age of olives extending in the area from Palestine towards Lebanese coast goes back to thousands years BC.
Tripoli & its wise men are characterized by a unique point that no one else have, it is the sophistication in the industry of aromatic & therapeutic soap, as well as the decorated soap used as decoration & had been offered as gifts to visitors in special & happy occasions.
The Arabian countries were the natural market for the Lebanese production cosmetics & soaps. As well as Europe, that knew the Lebanese soap since more than thousand years ago.
All olive workers were farmers, even merchants used to earn their living from the blessings & gods of reputable Tripoli's soap.
Soap's factories produced the highest quality the world ever knew.
In the beginning of the 14th AC, Khan Al Saboun was the first trade center in the area. It acquired a prestigious post in the international trade world.
The Citizens merchants of Tripoli founded soap's factory in the state of Halab since it is quite near to Turkey known as the passage to Europe.
Commonly known,ุ the family of Tripoli- soap makers - are till today the richest business men in Lebanon & its area,ุ among them,ุ the family of Bader Hassoun 1since more than 800 years ago. We see the family's houses & shops in the surroundings of Khan Al Saboun & Souk Al Aatarin still existing. In addition,ุ the family used to one many olives fields that provide soap's industry with sacred oil. Some members of the family were interested in cultivation; others were tutors of Islamic religion & beliefs in the well known mosque in ore present day.
Bader practiced the science of chemistry,ุ pharmacy & natural therapy from 800 years ago. Six siblings,ุgrandsons of Bader 1,ุ lived in the neighborhood of Noury in Tripoli during the rule period of a prince called Barbar Agha. They were considered amongst the most professional soap & beauty care products makers. However,ุ due to a political disagreement with the governor prince,ุ the brothers found themselves forced to disperse in different Lebanese regions. Even though; they preserved the closed relation among them. Only the house of the youngest brother Ahmad is still exists in the Noury's neighborhood in the beginning of the 18thc AC.
Among the male kids we may find some soap makers & the most distinguished one is Ahmad Hassoun & his eldest son Bachir. On the other hand,ุ the family's girls & women were excellent in creating cosmetic herbal compositions.
Each sone of Hajj Ahmad had his own special job; Hajj Anoir & Hajj Aabd Al Rahman was specialized in export mainly to Cairo line by marine's transportation. He was the brother of the grandmother of Bader Hassoun & cousin of his grandfather ()to his father)( Hajj Abd Al Rahman Hassoun who owned a shop in Noury's neighborhood specialist to buy family's products.
Among the types of soap & other products they used to create,ุ we start mentioning by:
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Aromatic therapy soap divided into 3 principle classes: Tripolian mixture,ุ Sultnic mixture & royal mixture. Each one of the precious products has its own ingredients & its own way of manufacturing & preparing.
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The farming herbal soap. It is a mixture that produces rich foam & natural scent. I n addition,ุ its ingredients are extracted from herbs & natural flowers. They may reach 200 types.
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The traditional farming soap.
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The therapeutic soap. It is a set of pharmaceutical compositions that wise men were accustomed to use it in order to treat skin problems.
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The aromatic creams. It is a set of perfumes compounded by wax bees,ุ oils & scented herbs. Thus mixture is specialized to provide certain men & women's sensitive area with a delicate smell. They fix the perfume on the skin without causing problems as those caused by chemical aromatic products.
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It deals with skin care creams. They are used for skin nourishment or night creams & creams that eliminate blackness underneath eyes area.
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It is considered with different herbal oils which are used to fortify hair & to turn the skin smoother.
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It revolves around massage oils formed by herbal & aromatic oils which are useful for the body.
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It deals with bridal soap or traditional soap of Tripoli.
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The decorated soap to provide certain designs flowers,ุ roses,ุ hangings & traditional forms.
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The small cute aromatic soap for decoration or for washing.
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The aromatic candles that provide a relaxing scent curing a psychiatric therapy (aromatherapy).
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Its contains bath accessories as sponge towel,ุetcโฆas well as creams taken from nourishing oils for skin,ุ herbal essences & rose water called Soft Woman Cream.
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A herbal cream that fixes hair.
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A cream that delays unpleasant hair growth.
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A rubbing cream to remove dead skin. It is composed of the cream of bees' compositions & rough materials as crashed glass,ุ broken wheat & other rough natural ingredients. As well as,ุ this cream provides blood circulation with energy.
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A cream consisting of herbal essences combined with smashed glass to remove dead skin from the face.
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Decorated wood soaked in herbs to perfume the atmosphere.
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A cream that heals dry skin (hands & tips).
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The distilled products of roses & flower & lots of herbs.
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Natural herbal water cologne.
The whole family members proceeded in earning their living from this industry until the beginning of the 19th c during the industrial revolution. The herbs,ุ flowers & honey were substituted for composed materials based on chemical industry. As well as,ุ the hand work was replaced by machines.
That is way the costs diminished a lot & natural soap became more expensive then artificial & industrial soap which attract people more,ุ due to its beautiful cover in order to hide its true natural & quality. All these artificial adding led to weaker the Lebanese craft men.
Those families diverted to other works. As the way with the family of Bader Hassoun the renewal starting with Hajj Abd Al Rahman Hassoun.
He worked only in cultivation & oriented his sons to work in different careers such as shoes & clothes industry & carpentry. The father of Bader Hassoun the renewal worked in many different fields. However,ุ he finally settled down to gold trade & industry. He also taught his sons this craft in order to practice it in the family's workshop. Bader was the most competent among his brothers. He had the ability to design & reach work perfection. In addition to this he practiced some hobbies like raising bees,ุ martial sport in which he was proficient since his childhood,ุ marathons,ุ herbal chemistry as composing perfumes. He also liked to keep in touch with the work of the family women in creating & composing herbal mixtures as with soap,ุ creams & oils. Those family women kept on practicing their traditional industry even though it wasn't anymore their source of living. In the way they preserved their historical heritage which reached Bader the renewal.
From his hobbies,ุ he also liked reading books dealing with history,ุ cultivation,ุ chemistry,ุ old medicine & the history of civilization & people.
Even though his major was completely different from what he practiced & liked. He never thought he would work as his ancestors' career. And he was a successful & well known jeweler although he was young.
He was 18 years old when he got married in 1980 to Mrs. Sakina who was 15. So they both raised a family that may be described as renewable to the historical craft heritage which is considered as the base of an important Lebanese tradition.
This happened without a previous plan. In 1985 Bader's jewelries store had been robbed. Meanwhile,ุ he had 3 children; Ahmad,ุ Iman & Amir. In addition,ุ he suffered countries bad economic & security situation. For this reason he decided to divert his job. So,ุ he worked different craft as wood starting from his own experience in design. However,ุ for his bad luck,ุ the income wasn't sufficient to his family. So,ุ he established a sport club from 1986 until 2002. The result was abstractly good but economically bad. His sons Ahmad & Amir were the most famous players among the karate beginners in the Middle East. They won several medallions & their father Bader was a judge & an international coach.
In addition to these previous contributions,ุ he established in 1985 a farm to raise bees which was the only benefit his family would use in soap's industry.
This state proceeded stable until 1990,ุ when Hajj Bachir Hassoun came from America & returned to his ancestors' craft. He insisted on teaching Bader the rules & principles of the industry of soap & creams.
Bader turned to be an excellent craft man. He was well educated,ุ had wide knowledge in history & was proficient in the English language. He starts to exhibit the product in the entry of Khan Al Saboun. This act attracted touristy guides & their companies that started to coordinate with him. They planned to insert Khan Al Saboun in a program special for the touristy groups. On the other hand,ุ Bader had to show in a live way how soap is hand made manufactured in front of the visitors,ุ accompanied by a detailed explanation on the history of soap industry in Tripoli & the history of Khan Al Saboun.
What captured audience's attention is that the children of Bader Ahmad & Amir user to work with their father in soap producing & selling. Even,ุ they acquired many foreign languages through their relations with tourists as French,ุ English,ุ German Spanish,ุ etcโฆAs well as their elevated style in behaving with people.
This new rebirth led to positive push for Khan Al Saboun after being in a deep coma during the beginning of the 19th c. especially after being a large bin space & disappeared from the touristy map. So Bader came renewing with his family & relationships which he earned by love & transformed it into a haven to everyone who visits Lebanon.
