The Tannery in the Fez Medina
Men have been dyeing leather in the Fez tannery for about a thousand years. Moroccan leather used to be famous and of high quality. It must still be in demand as the tannery is a busy place and there are piles of fresh hides waiting to be treated. A short distance away is a large yard where hides are brought in on donkeys and are sold to men who will tan, dye and sell them.
The tannery uses natural materials such as chicken or pigeon manure for the nitrogen to soften the hide. Obviously there is quite an odor with the piles of untreated hides waiting in the strong sun and, of course, the manure. I didn’t notice, though, because I wanted to get a good shot of this fascinating place.
Some of the vats are filled with the manure solution and others contain dyes. The yellow dye is commonly used to color babouche, the slipper-like shoe worn by Berber men. In the foreground you can see unshorn sheepskins drying in the sun. Somehow wool sheared from the hide of a dead sheep is considered less good than the wool sheared from a live sheep. I don’t see why, do you?
I had plenty of time to observe the skin on the bare legs of the tanners. I noticed no ulcers or discolorations. In fact their skin looked smooth and healthy. The men developed muscular physiques from lifting and wringing out the water soaked hides. It is my observation that most men in Arabic cultures do not lift weights to achieve a muscular body. It seems they do as little physical work as possible as physical work is considered lowly. Also, the long gown they wear looks best on a rail thin body. Maybe that is part of it.