The Fes Medina Leather Tanneries…you smell them long before you see them.
The sharp, acrid, nose hair shriveling stench of piss….aged piss, that is, ripened by the sunshine.
Let Rosie show you around one of the oldest Leather Tanneries in Fes which has been operational and tanning leather in the exact same way as it has done since the 11th Century. Nothing in this method has changed over time!
Have you ever wondered how your beautiful leather purse, bag or jacket is so soft and how it was coloured?
Well, goat, sheep, cow and camel hides are soaked for three days in a pigeon shit and animal urine slurry. This softens them and removes most of the hair and flesh on the hides.
The hides are then moved into the white baths which contain a lime mix to remove the last of the animal hair and fat.
The hair which comes off the hides is scooped out of the soaking baths, dried and used for stuffing pillows and mattresses…I know right, Rosie too tastes a little sick in her mouth.
The hairless, softened hides are then transferred to the dye pots for colouring. The dyers work the colour into the hides with their hands and also with their feet, by standing on them in the colour vats. Its simple, the longer they leave them in the vats, the darker the colour becomes.
The dye colours themselves are all natural, with poppy used for red, henna for orange and the indigo plant for blue.
It is an incredible sight…remember, this industry has been doing it the same way for over 800 years!
Looking over what looks like a child’s paintbox pallet is quite incredible…you forget about the smell for a moment as you marvel at the sight below.
The pits were a hive of activity in the warm spring sunshine. Rosie and The Operator watched them from the rooftop terrace of a leather shop that overlooks the site. We were given a sprig of mint as we stepped out onto the roof and quickly realised what it was for when the stench hit you full force in the face.
Of course, after viewing the tannery at work below we had to traverse through the leather shop in order to exit. Along the way we were shown the leather shops products in the hopes we might like to buy something. After Rosie’s carpet and scarf purchases already in the Medina…Rosie focused with tunnel vision like intensity on the exit door.
This time Rosie resisted even though the quality of the leather was outstanding and so, so, so soft…
Tomorrow we are hiring a taxi and visiting some sites in the new town of Fes, it is Friday tomorrow, a Holy Day and most things are shut including the Medina so Rosie and The Operator will go a little further afield.
