The tannery in Fez's medina is over 1,000 years old. It's a place where craftsmen turn animal skin into leather by soaking it in chemical soups, which include salts, acids, pee, and poo. A pretty potent mix. All manual labor. No machines. Pretty much the same process since the beginning. It's tough work. For a visual, think makeup or watercolor palettes, but much bigger. It's probably the most iconic image of Morocco, for a good reason. I don't know if there's another place with a tannery of this history and scale. All guidebooks have an obligatory picture of the tannery. What my photo doesn't convey is the stench. When you visit, they give you a sprig of mint to put under your nose. Utterly useless. The sight is, however, appropriately breathtaking.