Chouara tannery is the most well known and certainly the most beautiful tannery in the world. Located in Fes, Morocco, it was built in the 11 century.
Chouara tannery is probably the most well known and certainly the most beautiful tannery in the world. Located in Fes, Morocco, it was built in the 11th century. The process of producing leather in the tannery has not changed since medieval times. First, hides of goats, sheep, cows and camels are soaked in white stone vessels which are filled with delicious mixture of cow urine, pigeon shit, quicklime (calcium oxide), salt and water, to soften up tough leather and to make it more absorbent to dyes. After 3 days in this brew from hell, hides are hung from rails and walls to dry. Next, tannery workers dump the hides into brown stone vessels which are filled with dyes of various colors. When dyes are fully absorbed (in few days), the leather is dried by the sun and exported around the country and the world. Dyes are made of natural materials such as poppy (red), indigo (blue), henna tree (brown and orange), saffron (yellow) and pomegranates (deep red). Now days, they have started to use synthetic dyes also, even though they are reluctant to acknowledge this. The smells in the tannery can be overwhelming to some people, who then stuff their noses with fresh mint leaves to protect their sensitive smell organs. In Fes there are hundreds of leather goods stores selling everything that can be made from leather. It is the perfect place to practice the ancient art of hard bargaining.
Size: 4928px × 3264px
Location: Fez, Morocco
Photo credit: © Dordo Brnobic / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa, bali, chouara, chouwara, el, fes, fez, kož, kožara, leather, morocco, production, proizvodnja, tannery
