Scene by Laurie

The Medina, the original city of Fez, seems almost completely preserved from its original medieval origins despite the city’s growth outside the Medina walls; and the very rare modern sightings are anachronisms to what the Medina still is today.

We hired a local guide to navigate us through its 9,000 plus narrow streets that meander and wind like a maze, some of which are only passable in single file. One of the places we visited was the leather souk where the oldest tannery in the world exists (a souk is a market).

The tannery process– turning rawhide into leather — is completely manual there and the same as from 9 centuries ago, a tradition handed down and maintained through generations. And it’s quite an amazing sight to behold.

In very simple terms, the cow and goat hides are scraped of skin and hair and soaked in large vats, first to clean and then to dye them. All the dye colors are natural from plants and flowers – saffron for yellow, poppy for red, mint for green, etc. The solvents used have quite a strong odor so to help counterbalance them you get mint on your way in to hold up to your nose.

I took these shots of the vats and men at work from the terrace of one of the leather shops that lines the tannery square and sells the finished goods. The white vats in the back are for cleaning and the colored vats are for dyeing.

The vats are so big and deep and the amount of hides numerous, the men literally get into them up to their waists to get the hides soaked. Once the dyeing is completed, the hides are laid flat to dry and then cut and sewn into different leather goods. This shot is of some finished leather after being dried and before being made into various products – coats, purses, etc..

Despite the heavy handed salesmanship in the leather shops, it’s hard not to make a purchase after you see the history and tradition that goes into making a product in the leather souk, considering that in addition to the smell and the physical labor, the temperatures can get pretty unbearable as well.