Chouara is the largest and best known of the three working tanneries in Fes el-Bali, and one of the oldest still in use anywhere — leather has been cured on this site since around the 11th century. From the leather-shop balconies that overlook it, you look down onto a honeycomb of stone vats: white pits where raw hides are soaked in a caustic mix of lime, water and pigeon droppings, and coloured pits where they are dyed with natural stuffs like saffron yellow, poppy red, indigo blue, mint green and henna.
The work is done almost entirely by hand, much as it has been for centuries, and the smell is famously powerful — shopkeepers at the entrance hand visitors a sprig of fresh mint to hold under the nose. Access is through the surrounding leather bazaars, and the best vantage points are the upper terraces of those shops; there is an unspoken expectation that you browse the babouches, bags and jackets in exchange for the view. Spring and autumn bring the fullest colour, as many pits are drained during the wettest winter weeks.
Because the tannery hides deep in the medina's alleys with no signage and several rival 'guides' at the doorways, a private tour with a driver and local guide takes the friction out of it — you are brought straight to a reputable terrace with a clear view, at a calm hour, then walked on to the next site without backtracking through the maze.
Highlights
- The full honeycomb of white curing pits and coloured dye vats seen from a shop terrace
- Natural dyes explained — saffron, poppy, indigo, mint and henna
- A sprig of mint at the entrance to soften the tannery's legendary smell
- Hand-finished babouches, poufs, bags and jackets in the surrounding leather souk
- The centuries-old, near-unchanged working process below you
- Best light and fullest colour in spring and autumn
Best Time to Visit
Mid-morning on a dry spring or autumn day, when the pits are full of colour and the terraces are not yet crowded with tour groups.