Our story
The name Karawan comes from the Persian karwansaray, from کاروان, kārwān (‘group of travellers, caravan’), and سرای (sarāy, “house”). It means ‘house of travellers’. It evokes the culture of hospitality and the great trade routes. In medieval Arabic poetry, it means the nightingale, that messenger between gods and men, who spreads songs of love where spirituality and carnal love merge.
The origins of Karawan
Christine Delpal, the brand's creator, has a curious and adventurous spirit. Her love of people and beautiful materials led her on an unusual journey that culminated in the founding of Karawan Authentic in 2004.
"A childhood in the South of France. My mother, a pharmacist, taught me the techniques of traditional pharmacopoeia. With her, I cultivated a love of care, textures and fragrances. I ground herbs in a mortar, weighed and mixed plants, flowers and roots to make ointments, oils and creams. I was deeply imbued with an awareness of the benefits of nature.
I am pursuing a PhD in anthropology at EHESS on the reconstruction of the city of Beirut. For my research, I live with my family and two children in Lebanon and Syria, where I have the opportunity to study the souk and caravanserais with research teams from the Maison de l'Orient in Lyon, long before the destruction of the city of Aleppo in 2011. Strong personal bonds have been forged with families of artisans and soap makers. Some of them have now settled in Turkey. Together with them, we now produce Karawan Aleppo soaps. Their 17th-century soap factory was destroyed, but their ancestral know-how remains intact and our partnership is still strong.
A passionate photographer, I set up my own agency alongside my studies. For 10 years, I carried out photographic assignments in France and the East (Yemen, Oman, Indonesia, Turkey, etc.), particularly for UNESCO on architectural and intangible heritage.
Inspired by the artistic richness of Eastern civilisations and the captivating tales of the great silk and spice routes that have shaped human history, I explored, through photography and ethnology, the living traces of this heritage in lifestyles undergoing profound change.
"Through the enriching encounters that have marked my journey, I have experienced the gentleness of caring gestures, the generosity of hospitality, the courage of women, the abundance of nature's bounty, the talent of artisans, but also injustice and numerous imbalances.
I was convinced that I could do better and be more useful by working together; by becoming an actor rather than a witness. I decided to take a chance on creation as a commitment. To imagine objects capable of building bridges, of connecting worlds through the senses. A bold gamble, but one invested with meaning!
This desire led to the founding of Karawan in 2004. Since then, we have been working as a team in Lyon with more than 150 artisans from various countries to experiment with an inventive and responsible business model. At every stage, we seek to invent a more conscious way of acting, of producing less and better, in accordance with our real needs."
‘In 2023, after the destruction by war of so many places of shared human history, I donated my photographic collection of several thousand photographs to the Islamic Art Museum section of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin as part of the Syrian Heritage Archives project.’ Follow the project on Instagram: @Syrianheritagearchiveproject
