You smell it - the smell of Skin

The “yellow city” Fez was once the capital of Morocco. Today it feels more like the capital of fermenting skin. 

Chouara Tannery is the color location of Fez. The place where cow skin is being colored. The technique is an old traditional way. Each chamber has its own color. Usually, a full process from washing the skin to coloring it and then drying it takes around a month. 

There seem to be no real regulations. Each water chamber is around 1,5 meters tall and has a diameter of a meter. Each with a different color. It’s Friday, the resting day in the Muslim world. There is no one working except one person. He has the same height as me but is much more muscular. He has only one tooth in his lower mouth. Barefooted and with only shorts and an old broken thangtop, he takes skins out of one of the chambers. It is a heavy work with a quite intense smell. 

The Tannery is a cooperative where around 25 people work. Located in one side of the Medina you are reminded of the history of this place - where it feels that the time is standing still - but also the history of Fez. The Madina of Fez has a completely different feeling than walking around the Medina in Marrakech. The smell of fermenting skin is over the Medina in Fez. The Medina is narrow, and since it is Friday evening, most shops are closed. All covered with two locks. By traveling further north and west of Sahara I experience how France is the main language spoken. Not a lot on the street of Fez speaks English or Spanish as I’ve experienced in Marrakech and the Saraha. 

The Medina and the people I meet here seem more raw. The city has quite some castles and culture to offer, as the King has a palace on the outskirts of the city. Fez also houses quite some universities. However, the smell of fermenting Skin hangs strongly over the city. The visit to Fez is short as the Blue City is planned to be visited the next day.