The Fadel Family Since 1937

The story of the Fadel family begins in Aleppo, Syria, in 1937.
It was then that Fadel, together with his sons, began making Aleppo soap using the traditional method known in the city for generations.

From the very beginning, soap making was a family craft. Knowledge passed from father to sons, and later from one generation to the next. What mattered was not scale or speed, but consistency, care, and respect for the process.

The Early Years in Aleppo

The first soaps were made in an old stone building in Aleppo.
The space was simple and shaped by time rather than design. Inside, the work followed a steady rhythm: cooking, pouring, cutting, and drying, repeated year after year.

By 1996, the building had become unsafe due to its age. Authorities ordered it to be demolished. The family was forced to move on and build a new place dedicated solely to soap making.

The method did not change.
Only the walls did.

A Craft Passed Down

Soap making within the Fadel family was never the work of one individual. It was carried collectively, from father to sons, and then to the next generation.

There were no written manuals. The craft was learned through observation, repetition, and time. It became part of everyday life, not something separate from it.

This continuity allowed the work to continue without interruption for decades.

Years of Disruption

When the war reached Aleppo, daily life became uncertain. Like many families, the Fadels faced difficult decisions.

Production did not stop.
Instead, it moved.

The family relocated to Gaziantep, just across the border, a place historically close to Aleppo and long connected to it through trade and movement. The transition was not easy. Resources were limited, conditions were difficult, and rebuilding routines took time.

Still, soap continued to be made.

Returning to Aleppo

As conditions slowly changed, the family was able to return to Aleppo, Syria. The original place was restored, and work began again where it had once started.

The return was not symbolic.
Production resumed, hands returned to familiar rhythms, and the craft continued in its original home.

A Craft Shared Beyond Aleppo

While the heart of the craft remains in Aleppo, Syria, the soap itself has traveled further over time.

Through long-standing use and personal trust, Aleppo soap reached people beyond its place of origin, carried by those who had grown up with it and continued to value it elsewhere.

What was shared was not a new product, but an existing tradition — introduced carefully, without changing the method or the meaning behind it.

A Living Tradition

The story of the Fadel family is not about expansion or recognition. It is about continuity. About choosing to keep doing the same work, in the same way, even when circumstances change.

What began in Aleppo, Syria, in 1937 continues today, shaped by place, time, and the quiet commitment of a family that never let the craft go.