The old factory
Arches and vaults.
Personal photographer of the Soap Museum — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Personal photographer of the Soap Museum — CC BY-SA 4.0 · BlingBling10 at English Wikipedia — CC BY-SA 3.0
A museum in a seventeenth-century soap factory in the old city of Sidon, built by the Hammoud family, with parts thought to date from the thirteenth century. The Audi family owned it from around 1880; restoration began in 1996 and it opened as a museum in November 2000. It tells the story of soap making in the region and its techniques, from traditional olive-oil soap to the tools of the trade, and shows objects found during excavations in the building. The building itself is lovely, with stone arches and vaulted ceilings. It is run by the Audi Foundation, which promotes traditional crafts in Lebanon, and its shop sells handmade soap. An hour is plenty. The museum is a few minutes' walk from Khan al-Franj and the Sea Castle, so all three fit into one walk through old Sidon.
Arches and vaults.
And its story.
Handmade soap.
Old city, Sidon
The history, techniques and tools of soap making in the region, objects found in the building, and a shop selling handmade soap.
