Lebanon · Metalwork / Blacksmithing
Souk el Nahasine (the Copper Market, Tripoli's historic coppersmithing district)
The hand-shaping of copper plates and vessels by hammer in Souk el Nahasine, Tripoli's historic copper market, where traces of copper making and metalworking in Lebanon can be found as early as the Bronze Age. Osman Tartousy, one of the area's most prominent copper makers, directly recalled to Lebanon Traveler the souk's former intensity of activity: 'You couldn't talk when walking down Nahasine Street, so loud was the pounding of hammer on metal.' Today, each stand lining Souk el Nahasine continues to display finished copper items, glimmering with craftsmanship built up over generations. The souk's coppersmithing tradition sits alongside Tripoli's parallel soap-making trade, also historically rooted in the same old souk district, with Tripoli documented as one of the first Lebanese cities to begin producing soap; the city's craft heritage is directly explored with the support of Lebanon's Ministry of Tourism as part of the country's documented long history of copperware, glassblowing, and pottery production.
Risk level: Endangered · Not independently inscribed
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