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The Tannery at Fez

2008.03.30




This tannery has been in Fez for 900 years and the process for the treatment of hides is entirely manual and has not changed in all that time.

The first step is to soak the animal hides in diluted pigeon excrement which is mildly acidic and helps to soften the hide. Then they are soaked in dyes to absorb colour and left to dry in the sun on the flat roof tops of the medina. Once dry, the leather is cut to a pattern and manually stitched to make the final product.

With the mix of wet animal hides, pigeon droppings, and huge vats of pungent dyes you can guess that the smell is truly terrible.

This is most definitely a place NOT to bring a vegan :)
6 Comments
peregol Fantastic set!!
peregol · 2008-03-30: 12:43
neusnet Beautiful set!
neusnet · 2008-03-30: 12:51
slowpete great set.
well captured
slowpete · 2008-03-31: 02:08
millapiim some kind new lifestyle?;) Great work!
millapiim · 2008-03-31: 13:44
Primavera Again another great series!!
Primavera · 2008-04-01: 13:20
Nayah Wonderful set! i saw this in a documentary on tv....
Nayah · 2008-04-01: 16:04
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