Syria · Leatherwork / Saddlery
Khayt Al-Kharaza (also known as Khayt Al-Sareed), a silk thread specifically made from sheep intestines
The hand-crafting of leather shoes and related products in Palmyra, using a genuinely distinctive locally produced silk thread called Khayt Al-Kharaza (also known as Khayt Al-Sareed), made from sheep intestines and treated with beeswax before use, documented through the first-person account of craftsman Tareq Al-Skaf, whose own nickname is directly derived from his craft, collected by the Palmyrene Voices documentation project. Al-Skaf's account directly details the practical infrastructure historically supporting the trade: sewing machines specifically designed for leatherwork were periodically acquired from workshops in Aleppo or Damascus, while the distinctive intestine-based silk thread was itself locally produced within Palmyra. Displaced by conflict, Al-Skaf relocated to Turkey, specifically to Reyhanlı, where he discovered more readily available and technically advanced equipment and tools than had been accessible in Palmyra, directly crediting these modern tools with significantly increasing his production efficiency and improving his craftsmanship quality; he further describes using online communication channels and search engines to explore new designs and incorporate them into his trade. Al-Skaf directly reports that his income from the profession is somewhat satisfactory, provided a consumer market exists for his crafted goods, and that he currently sells most of his products to foreign markets, including Western European countries and East Asian nations -- a genuine, directly documented account of craft adaptation and continuity through displacement, rather than a narrative of simple loss.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not independently inscribed
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