Leather tanneries, Fez, Morocco
Chouara leather tannery in Fez
Walking through the maze of narrow streets in the old part of the Moroccan city of Fez you can follow signs or your nose to find the leather tanneries. From the back of the leather shops around the tanneries you can get a good view of the colorful round pits in which the animal hides are processed.
The largest is the Chouara tannery where you can get a tour for a few dirhams. With an overwhelming strong smell, walking between the round basins in which the leather is soaked, you feel like being taken back in time a few hundred years. Men standing up to their waist in the smelly stuff rubbing and soaking the hides.
Producing leather
Hides from sheep, goats, cows and camels are processed and colored in stone pits filled with all sorts of fluids and dyes like urine, salt, limestone and pigeon poo.
A very laborious process of scraping the hides, soaking in fluids an then drying in the sun on the rooftops or hanging on the walls.
Leather shops
There are many leather shops around the tanneries in Fez where you can buy handbags, purses, belts or shoes. You can get a good deal but be aware of the sometimes aggressive selling techniques of the shopkeepers. They may invite you to look at the tanneries from the back of the shop and then charge you for it or insist that you buy something.
Places to stay in Fez
Staying in the medina, the historic part of Fez is the best way to experience the authentic atmoshpere of this Moroccan city.
Riad Fes Kettani is near the tanneries and a very pleasant place with tradional Moroccan building style decorations. The food is fabulous too.
Le cèdre d'argent is also located in the medina, near the tanneries and other sights in Fez. Clean and nicely decorated!
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