Olive

Syria was among the world’s leading olive oil producers, and olive oil and laurel oil make the famous Aleppo soap.

An evergreen, very long-lived tree with silvery, lance-shaped leaves and a gnarled, twisted trunk. In late spring it bears small, creamy flowers in clusters, and in autumn oil-rich drupes ripen, turning from green to black. The tree tolerates drought, heat and stony limestone soils well, but cannot withstand hard frosts. The fruits are pressed for oil or, once their bitterness is removed, preserved as table olives, while the stones and pressing residue are used as fuel.

Significance in the country

The olive is Syria’s most widely grown fruit tree, and the groves around Idlib, Afrin and Aleppo were famed for their oil and table olives. Handmade Aleppo soap (sabun halabi) is made from olive oil with added oil from laurel berries and dried for months.

Where it grows

Mainly in the north-west – in the Idlib and Aleppo governorates (especially the Afrin region) – and in the coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartus; also around Homs, Hama, Damascus and in the Hauran (Daraa).

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