Today we’re heading to one of Fez’s tanneries to see the ancient practice of curing animals skins for use in clothing, bags and other items.
Chouara Tannery is one of three tanneries in the city. It is the largest tannery and one of the oldest.
It’s located in Fes el Bali, the oldest medina quarter of the city, near the Saffarin Madrasa.
Since the city began, the tanning industry has been continually operating in the same fashion as it did in the early centuries.
Today, the tanning industry in the city is considered one of the main tourist attractions.
But be warned – it is incredibly smelly! They use various mixtures of cow urine, pigeon feces, quicklime, salt, and water in order to clean and soften the tough skins.
It is also a notorious hotbed for hassle according to the guidebooks – which almost put me off visiting.
However we must have struck it very lucky as we strolled in behind a tour group, heading straight up to the viewing platform, grabbed our snaps and scarpered before anyone could put hte hard sell on us!
The tanneries are packed with round stone vessels filled with dye or white liquids for softening the hides.
This process takes two to three days and prepares the hides to readily absorb the dyes.
They are then soaked in different dyeing solutions, which use natural colorants such as poppy for red, indigo for blue, and henna for orange.
However at certain times of the year, such as when we visiting in September, the colours are limited to browns and white.
The leather goods produced in the tanneries are then exported around the world – but of course there are literally 100s of market stalls selling any leather item you could possibly want are in Fez’s medina.