“It is way better than before,” said Abdel Hameed Harb, a tannery worker, referring to the relocation of all tannery workshops and factories to an eastern Cairo neighborhood.
Harb is among hundreds of tannery workers who have been relocated as part of a government plan to turn its decadeslong tannery complex into a tourist and cultural hub. The old tannery complex is located inside Magra El-Oyoun Fence, a historical site dating back to the Mamluk era. It was built during the era of Sultan Al-Ghuri in the early 16th century.