The leather tanneries in the medina are one of Marrakesh's most unusual sights — a working industrial site where hides are soaked, scraped, and dyed in large stone vats by hand, much as they have been for centuries. The vats filled with natural dyes (saffron, poppy, henna, cedar) create a striking patchwork of colour visible from rooftop terraces. The smell is powerful. Many of the surrounding leather shops provide free entry to a viewing terrace, though persistent sales pressure is part of the experience.
The Tanneries
Open-air leather dyeing vats in the northeastern medina, operated by the same method since the 12th century