The Medina-
and even narrower-
Many lead to family homes like this one where thirteen people live on three floors-
Spices-
Living chickens-
And others freshly plucked-
There are many mosques-
"My" carpets-
The smaller tannery was started in the 11th century. 150 families work here. They tan goat, sheep, camel and cow skins. First, the hides spend four days in the white vats and soak in a concoction of pigeon poop for the ammonia, salt, carbon and water. This process helps loosen the hair from the skin-
Then the hides are put in a 'washing machine' -
Lots of the hair is used to stuff pillows and foot stools-
When I left the terrace, I was expected to shop. I tried on a beautiful black leather dressy jacket that fit like a glove. The nicest leather comes from goats and it was super soft. I could have bought it for $270 but passed. On my way back onto the street, I was 'accosted' by a worker who took me right onto the floor for closeup views-
This man is dragging away a black hide and a Holstein hide-
Stirring the vats-
The hides are soaking in the vats of chemical-
Scraping off hair-
Only the best pieces are dyed. The red color comes from the poppy flower, yellow from saffron, green from mint, brown from henna and blue from indigo-
Luckily, a group was going in so I went in with them without having to call. All the graves are white-
except this one which I thought was a crematorium to begin with but it's a tomb. Candles are burned in the fireplace on the left hand side and they must get quite a fire going because the chimney is huge-
The main attraction seems to be the grave belonging to Solika Hatuel the Righteous. She was born in Tangier in 1817 and was decapitated in Fez in 1834. She refused to renounce her Jewish faith and was consequently put to death. The group visiting said prayers around her tomb and then many placed their hands or faces on it and continued individual prayers-
I stopped at Carrefour on the way by. They always have such interesting things like this shark with his nose wrapped and an eel curled up-
I had a great day and got back to the camp via public bus about 4 pm. I'm looking forward to another day in Fez.
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