Chouara Tannery How to Visit Amazing Moroccan Tannery in Fez!

A wonderful aspect of visiting Morocco is shopping for exquisite leather goods Chouara Tannery. But do you know how, and more importantly, what kind of material, all that colorful leather is made of?

Visits to tanneries in Morocco are a fantastic chance to see this procedure in action.

The biggest and oldest tannery in Fez, known locally as Chouara Tannery, is one of the most well-known.

It has been a thousand years since this historic outdoor workshop was built. There are a lot of colorful pools with folks working in the sun, like a painter’s palette.

Travelers may be surprised to find what exactly happens within these stone holes, despite the fact that this rainbow of color makes for an amazing picture opportunity.

Additionally, there are many tourist frauds in operation, making it difficult to locate the Fez tanneries on your own. It’s not as simple as going with your nose.

This comprehensive guide includes information about the history, what to anticipate, and scams to avoid while visiting the renowned Chouara Tannery in Morocco.

What is a Moroccan tannery, first of all?

In Morocco, a tannery is a facility where animal hides and skins are prepared to manufacture leather.

In contrast to medieval Europe, when tanneries were often hidden behind caves and on the fringes of towns because to the stink. Because of Morocco’s constant sunshine and heat, several tanneries were built outside of and inside of the Medinas.

Animal skins are dehaired, degreased, salted, and steeped in the tannery to halt decomposition.

Then, they undergo further processing and dyeing to produce the leather used in the stunning purses, shoes, and coats you see in stores.

Huge stone pots or jars that convey water and a mixture of substances or natural color make up the tannery workshop. To help the skins dry off, there are also big spaces and drying racks.

Morocco still has a large number of historic tanneries. To this day, they still prepare skins and hides for leather using the same age-old techniques.

Chouara Tannery’s background in Fes

There are three major tanneries in Fes, but Chouara Tannery is by far the biggest and most well-known.

The biggest tannery in the city, it was established back in the 11th century!

It is situated in Fes el Bali, the Medina’s oldest neighborhood, which was selected because it is adjacent to the Saffarin Madrasa and the river.

It was helpful to have easy access to the river since it supplied much of the water required to work the leather.

The fact that Chouara Tannery’s current structure is substantially intact from its modest origins is what makes it unique. It is thus much over a thousand years old!

Another incredible fact is that Morocco still uses the same traditional methods for producing leather.

The majority of the work is done by hand, and the processing and colors are made using natural components.

What’s the composition of Moroccan leather?

This step in the leather-making process, in my opinion, is the most alarming, and it could change your opinion of leather in the future.

First off, the fact that leather is created from animal skins and hides shouldn’t surprise you. These are often camels, cows, goats, and sheep in Morocco.

The skin is then prepared for processing by soaking in containers filled with a variety of liquids.

These fluids are a concoction of water, quicklime, salt, pigeon feces, and cow pee. So it’s clear why this location has a reputation for being odorous.

The combination is used to halt skin deterioration and soften it so that it may be treated further and coloured.

In Morocco, the anti-aging treatments are all natural. You’ll discover that henna is used to make orange dye, indigo for blue, and poppies for red.

In Fez Tannery, how is leather made?

It’s rather amazing how leather is traditionally made for commerce. The process of making leather for items at Chouara Tannery might take days or even weeks.

There is absolutely no equipment or manufacturing taking place. All of it is accomplished through physical labor;

Before the heat has a chance to exit the tissue, the animal is first skinned. The majority of tanners will buy skins and hides from the butcher. After that, it is salted to remove the hair.

After that, the animal skin is permitted to soak in the liquid-filled tanks. This will be the delightful concoction of feces, lime, salt, and water! Yummy. Two to three days are given to them.

when the skin or hide has been thoroughly softened. The skin will next go into the dye vat for coloring before being let to dry.

The skins are then let to dry in the sun.

The craftspeople who are eager to work will buy these hides from the tanners after that. To sell to you, they will fashion the leather into handicrafts like shoes, purses, poufs, and jackets. Additionally, they provide worldwide shipping for these goods.

The procedures used to prepare leather vary depending on the kind of animal skin, its color, etc.

This explains why certain leather’s pricing in the stores fluctuate greatly. The preparation of the product and the level of craftwork rely on it.

How to travel to the Chouara Tannery in Fes and where is it located?

The Fes el Bali neighborhood of the Medina is where the Chouara Tannery is situated. However, they are tucked away, despite the fact that you may be able to smell it before you get there.

The stores and the tannery collaborate to create and market leather goods to visitors at the Fez Tanneries.

Thus, there are several leather stores all around the Chouara Tannery. You must enter the viewpoint through one of the Fes Tanneries in order to observe them in operation.

Of course, there are a lot of touts who will insist on telling you where to locate the “best view” in order to assist you in finding the tanneries.

No money, I’m not a guide, and looking is free, they will say. However, you’ll need to provide a tip.

The touts work on commission with the stores and it’s almost like you enter and depart via the gift shop!

Due to this, you should be on the lookout for Fes tannery frauds. Additionally, you’ll notice that there are a lot of pushy sales tactics.

Below, I’ll go into greater detail about these frauds and how to prevent them.

When is Chouara Tannery open, and how much does it cost to enter?

The Chouara Tannery is open every day from from 8 am until 7 pm. The availability of the stores is a major factor.

You could discover that stores shut early for prayer on Fridays, which are considered holy days in Morocco.

Since the tanneries are not a government tourist destination, there is no set fee to access them. I would not, however, go there expecting to pay nothing at all!

You will often be charged by touts and guides to show you “the greatest view.” Additionally, you could decide to buy any of the leather products available in the stores.

A tour should cost you between 20 and 50 MAD. I ultimately paid 20 MAD (£4/$5) for my tour and pics. However, some hawkers were using 200 MAD! That is absurd.

Scams at the Fez Tannery to be aware of

As one of the top tourist destinations in Fes, this regrettably brings with it a number of frauds on unwary tourists. It is renowned for being something of a tourist trap.

People will often approach you and ask you if you want to see them before you even enter the tanneries.

Many of them will assert that “seeing is free” and “I’m not a guide.” But you’ll have to make a payment.

The ideal course of action would be to haggle over a price and come to an agreement before entering a store or receiving a tour of the tannery.

I would make an effort to come to an agreement between 20 and 50 MAD. Any number above 100 is excessive.

Which angle offers the finest view of Fez Tannery?

Without walking inside one of the leather stores, it is virtually impossible to observe the tanneries from above. They are everywhere around the tannery.

Thus, it may be wiser to do some study before entering a store to examine the view in order to attempt to avoid the Fez tannery fraud and touts.

When you respectfully refuse the offer from one of these “tour guides,” this might be of great assistance to you. They count on the fact that you won’t know where you want to go and will take advantage of that.

You may randomly enter one of the several leather stores nearby. But to have a decent perspective for shooting, I always believe it’s preferable to visit one of the upper shops.

Shop Number 10 offers, in my opinion, the greatest photographic vista of Chouara Tannery. However, Number 64 also boasts a breathtaking outlook.

So you may search for these numbers on the walls when you go to Fes el Bali. You may discover the view by climbing the steps!

However, as soon as you go inside the store, you won’t be able to dodge a “guide” suggestion or pushy sales tactics.

If you don’t want to purchase, just agree to give the guide a little charge and refuse the offer of leather items with grace!

Is it possible to enter the tannery?

Yes, if you prefer not to see the tanneries from above and would want to visit the tannery itself to have a closer look at the procedure. A tannery tour with a guide is an option.

If you choose to do this, stay away from the leather stores that surround it and instead follow one of these “guides” who will lead you down a narrow alleyway to the tanneries.

They will then take you on a tour of the workshop, explain the process, and, if you’d like, even let you climb up into some of the tanning pools!

You can see the guys entering the vats of dyeing and preparing the leather for processing in this picture. This is what I did, and it allowed me to take some fantastic pictures.

Being around that scent all day must be really difficult given how hot and sweaty the task is.

Does the Fez Tannery really have a foul odor?

You can smell these tanneries long before you see them, I won’t lie to you about that. That kind of impression is caused by the combination of decomposing animal meat, excrement, and urine in the heat.

However, things are not as horrible as you would believe. After the first five minutes of being there, you become acclimated to the stench.

I would bring a sprig of mint to protect your nose from the odor if you are really anxious or have a sensitive stomach to scents. As an extra benefit, some tutorials will even assist you with that!

If you are a vegan, vegetarian, or have a strong reaction to the killing of animals for animal products, I would not at all suggest going.

Although it is a messy process, it helps you understand how much labor and effort goes into making leather.