Aleppo: Beeswax Collectors

Date: c. 1840

Sir John Bowring (d. 1872) found that around 200-250 qinṭārs (1 Syrian qinṭār = 256.4 kg) of yellow beeswax was collected annually from the Aleppo district. About a quarter of the wax was consumed by manufacturers and dyers, and a quarter more went into the production of the candles used in the many Christian churches of Aleppo. About 100 qinṭārs of wax were exported to Europe. See also: Dyer and Printer of Textiles.

Citation: Bowring, John. Report on the Commercial Statistics of Syria (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1840. Reprinted: New York: Arno Press, 1973), p. 18.