Aleppo: Cotton Cultivators

Date: c. 1840

According to Sir John Bowring (d. 1872), good quality cotton was grown near Aleppo which is of good quality. Little was sent to English markets, where it was most often used for the wicks of candles. The greater part was exported to Italian, French, and German ports. The area around Aleppo produced 500 to 600 qinṭārs of cotton (1 Syrian qinṭār = 256.4 kg). See also: Cotton Weaver; Dyer and Textile Printer.

Citation: Bowring, John. Report on the Commercial Statistics of Syria (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1840. Reprinted: New York: Arno Press, 1973), p. 13.