Where do I buy leather in Fes?

Fes is where you buy leather in Morocco, full stop — the city has been tanning hides the same way for roughly a thousand years, and the beating heart of it is the Chouara tannery in the heart of the old medina, Fes el-Bali. The shops that ring the tannery are built specifically so you climb to a terrace, look down on the honeycomb of stone dye vats where men work the hides by hand, and then browse the finished goods in the same building. That sensory connection — seeing the raw craft below the polished product — is unique to Fes.

What you actually buy there runs the full range: soft leather jackets and coats, handbags and satchels, the pointed babouche slippers, belts, wallets, and the famous unstuffed leather poufs that everyone flat-packs home. Beyond Chouara, the smaller Sidi Moussa and Ain Azliten tanneries serve the same trade, and good leather shops are scattered through the Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira, the medina’s two main spines. I usually steer people to a settled shop rather than the most aggressive terrace tout, because the quality gap between sellers is enormous.

An honest word on the experience, because it surprises people: the tanneries smell powerful — pigeon droppings and lime are part of the traditional curing — and the shopkeepers hand you a sprig of mint to hold under your nose, which genuinely helps. Do not let the theatre rush you into buying. Inspect the stitching, check the leather is supple and evenly dyed, and smell it: properly cured leather smells of leather, while a harsh chemical or rotten note means poor work that may not last.

My practical guidance: try jackets and bags on in good light, work the zips and seams, and remember that the very softest "lambskin" is not always the most durable. Agree a price unhurried, and if you are buying a pouf, buy it unstuffed and fill it at home. The mint sprig is a courtesy, not an obligation to purchase. If leather is a priority for your trip, give Fes its day — it is the one place I tell people to do their leather shopping rather than picking it up scattershot elsewhere.