Marrakesh’s leather tanneries are spread around Rue Bab Debbagh on the way to the Bab Debbagh gate. There are a number of small tanneries here, where you can pop in and see the tanners at work, but persistent hustlers can make it a very trying experience, and many think it is just not worth the bother.

The tanneries date back to the founding of the city. They're located here by Bab Debbagh to use water from the the river (Oued Issil) that runs along the Medina's east side, just outside the city wall.

The leather is tanned by soaking in curing vats containing baths of tannic tree bark, tamarisk fruit and pigeon droppings. Then they're scraped clean and dyed. The whole place looks like a scene out of Dante’s Inferno, and it stinks something awful, but it's interesting to see.