Leather processing is a traditional handicraft in Turkey and was developed greatly during the Ottoman period. Istanbul's traditional leather manufacturing industry was concentrated in the district of Kazlicesme, where Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror had 360 tannery shops built to be rented out to leather craftsmen. Over the next 500 years Kazlicesme became a notorious eyesore, which could be smelt long before it came into sight and the hundreds of small manufacturers have now been moved to a spacious modern industrial estate in Pendik.
Although it is a big industry, leatherwear is still very dependent on personal appeal and touch. It is also risky, time-consuming, laborious and therefore costly. It takes about 45 days to transform a skin into leather ready for dying and nearly 60 days from skinning to the finished garment. Also the volume of livestock in Turkey is not increasing at a sufficiently high rate to keep up with the industry's demand.

Despite all these difficulties, the leather sector comes after textiles in terms of export figures. The principal markets for Turkish leather goods today are the European Union countries led by Germany and then France.

The leather shops in Marmaris have an overwhelming display of reasonably priced leatherwear, from sheepskin and suede jackets to handbags, travel bags, briefcases, belts, purses, small gifts and accessories, leather vases and even unusual masks