Arduous Employment

Astonishing Tannery,
originally uploaded by Raven Weaver.

Walking the kingdom continued on Monday with Khalid the guide. We made it to the tannery which is a highlight for tourists. The dyes are all natural and the smell can be something to contend with. Luckily, the day we visited was cool and I had no need of the mint sprig on offer. The hides are left soaking until they begin to rot and the wool of the animal can be removed. Then they are alternatively dyed and dried in the sun repeatedly until the desired depth of colour is reached. The families who work in this tannery are following in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents. The work is laborious. I then was shown to a traditional herbalist and endured the accompanying spiel. I thought that the least that I could do was to finally make a purchase of something as that is the point of being dragged into all of these shops. I am now the proud owner of a bar of argon oil soap which cost the average labourer's daily wage. At great long last and to my utter delight, we reached the workshop of the last drawloom artist. He was seated and creating the most elaborate gold and silver worked brocade from the reverse. It takes two people to operate the complexly threaded drawloom. He is a master weaver and two other looms were being operated by younger men. The apprentices were a relief to see as it would be disheartening for this art form to fade away with this older gentleman. What was disheartening was to hear that it takes one to two months for an order to be ready and that, though I have the time, the price is rather out of my reach. Through Khalid I asked if I might return. The master weaver agreed. He had already taken the time from his work and unfurled roll upon roll of the most exquisite brocades. Six meters are needed for a caftan. What could I have made with the one meter that I can afford?....It will be an honour to be allowed to sit and watch him create over these next few months. We left the workshop with me desperately memorizing the route and shortly thereafter encountered an embroidery workshop. Two women sat on a divan next to an electric heater. Heaped upon their laps were tablecloths onto which they were hand-stitching fine embroidered patterns that existed only in their imaginations. The store attendant displayed pillow covers, table runners, napkins and lastly, a bridal bed set. The bed sets take up to one year to embroider. I will be bereft at the number of textiles that will not return home with me at the end of this journey. Hopefully, though, one or two treasures might make their way across the ocean to remind me of the timeless traditions that still flourish here.