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A visit to the tanners district is quite an experience....though not really a pleasant one. The tanneries are located in a poorer part of town - I guess this is the last part of town you would want to live in as the whole area smells really bad, and also feels a little unsafe.
Getting to the tanneries was an adventure in itself. We decided to walk there, navigate our way from the Musee de Marrakech - about 15 minutes walk. Along the way we were bombarded with men and boys asking if we were going to the tanneries, as they wanted to guide as there. We didn't acknowledge them, though we were pleased that they kept pointing out the direction so we knew we were headed the right way.
As we got closer, we started to feel a bit wary as the area didn't feel safe, but we kept going as we really wanted to have a look. One of the men that wanted to show us the way continued to walk in front of us, even though we told him we didn't want a guide.
We arrived in the tanners district and a man, standing at the entrance to one of the tanneries, beckoned us over to have a look. We hesitated as the smell (probably from rotten animal flesh) was revolting and we both immediately felt nauseous. He ran across the road and came back with two big handfuls of mint which if held up to your nose helped a little to block out the stench.
So, we had a look in the tannery for just a couple of minutes. There are dozens of large pits dug into the ground. Some pits are filled like baths, with lime and pigeon dung (bizarre, I know!), others are used to trample on the animal skins. The workers remove the hair, then oil and treat the hides and leave them in the sun to dry.
After a quick look the tannery man wanted us to follow him to see some of the finished product (no doubt his friends shop!). We gave him some dirham and scurried off, much to his disgust - not sure if he was unhappy with the amount of money or the fact that we didn't want to go to the shop with him, probably both. Anyway, we didn't stick around to find out. Leave a Comment
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Oh dear. This place nearly made me faint. I could NOT BELIEVE the stench! I could not believe what I was witnessing! As we approached the plethora of cement vats containing GOD KNOWS WHAT we were handed a sprig of mint "GAS MASK!" said the man and gestured for us to hold it to our noses. However, MY sprig had bits of animal fur stuck to it and that was that. I got dizzy, weak in the knees and Tim led me the hell out of there. The man we were talking to led us away from the tanneries and up some obscure stairs, then onto a terrace with the coolest old tile floor to look at the leather workers in action from above. He explained the process of softening the leather and whatnot and I decided I'd not be buying a single leather piece while there. This is most definitely interesting, but it wasn't for me. Leave a Comment Directions: The tanneries were a far trek beyond the Musee de Marrakesh to the edge of the Medina with views of Le Palmeraie over the rampart walls.
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