Saponification is the term used to describe the creation of soap from oils. The Audi Foundation's historic Soap Factory in the historic town of Saida (Sidon) in South Lebanon is the ideal place to learn about the traditional art of soap-making. This was often practiced by women of the region, using home-pressed olive oil, ashes and water from the well. It was also made commercially for sale in larger towns or for export abroad.
The museum, which is located in Saida's ancient souk (market) explores the week-long process of making soap: the two days needed to prepare a caustic water solution from ashes, lime and water in fermentation pits; and the five or six days that the solution needed to be heated at a very high temperature, to separate the impurities and un-disolved oils and create a soapy paste. When cooled, this paste was cut with a wire thread, then it could be moulded into shape or stamped with a design and then dried in round, spherical stacks.
A wonderful video of the museum can be found here: http://www.discoverlebanon.com/en/panoramic_views/south/saida/view_khan-saboun.php
No comments:
Post a Comment