Leather Tannery Fez, Morocco

I loveeeeeeeeeeeee Morocco. This country is so beautiful and the food is just divine and so diverse. The people are super friendly and beautiful and yea Morocco rocks. I have been to Rabat, Marrakeck, Mekenes, Volubilis, Casablanca and Fez. In this review I will write about my experience at the world famous and the world’s biggest leather tannery in Fez, Morocco. The tannery is located in the Medina. I went with my tour group in December of 2014. We were told by our tour guide that we were actually going at a good time because in spring and summer the smell of the leather and the dye can be smelled from the moment you enter the Medina miles away. We started to smell the leather and the dyes from about one mile away. It wasn’t too bad but the closer we got the stronger the smell. We entered the shop, which houses all of the crafts from leather shoes, jackets and purses. Immediately after entering the three-story house converted into a store, we were given fresh mint to smell instead of smelling the leather and dye. I got a beautiful purple purse and I got a student discount! I also bargained the price down by 20 bucks. Bargaining is the norm in Morocco and in any country in Africa.  On the third floor of the shop there is a balcony where you can look out on to the medina and also see the dying process below. There are tens of large deep brown bins made from concrete or clay. The time we went there were 2 or three men checking the dying process of some leather and they were about to just start dying some new leather. A fun fact about the leather tannery in Fez, a large number of the leather comes from the Hausa region of Northern Nigeria. Hausa people are very famous for there leather and leather is one of their major trades. The leather is then exported from Nigeria and makes it way to Morocco where it is dyed and sold as "Moroccan Leather". So it is really and truly an All-African tannery.