What to do in Sidi Bou Said, the enchanting Tunisian town included among the UNESCO protected areas that will enchant you with its colors and scents.
Sidi Bou Said is a beautiful city located in the north of Tunisia, known for its evocative landscapes, for its long and rich past and for having attracted numerous European artists and intellectuals over the centuries looking for a place in which to find inspiration and relax.
Located approximately twenty kilometers from the capital Tunis, in 1979 Sidi Bou Said it has been included in the list of UNESCO protected areas as a location of great historical and archaeological value. The city is in fact part of the territory that saw the birth and development of the ancient city of Carthage: the area is in fact dotted with archaeological sites and remains of the ancient Carthaginian culture.
Sidi Bou Said derives its name from a very important religious figure of Islam to whom the city was born, Abou Said ibn Khalef ibn Yahia Ettamini el Beji. In the 1231th century AD the mystic arrived in the village which at the time was called Jabal el-Menar and decided to build a large sanctuary, which became a very important center for the propagation of Sufi theories and became a place of pilgrimage as soon as its construction was completed. When the mystic died, in XNUMX, a mausoleum was built in his honor, which also became a place of great popular devotion.
The strong tourist vocation of Sidi Bou Said has its long roots in the distant 18th century, when the town began to attract the attention of wealthy local and Turkish governors, who chose to come and reside in the area to enjoy the wonderful climate and the relaxed atmosphere of the village. Sidi Bou Said is in fact located in an enchanting position, perched on the top of a hill, from which it is possible to contemplate the entire northern coast of the Tunisian coast. A great process of urbanization therefore began which attracted many personalities, both from the neighboring area of the Maghreb and the Near East and from Europe.
The village has been a fascinating tourist attraction for many years mainly due to the peculiar use of colours blue and white, which we find in any corner of Sidi Bou Said, even in the most remote ones. Rightly defined as "the blue and white paradise", the town owes its color scheme to the French painter Rodolphe d'Erlanger, who, after frequenting the town for a long time, absorbing its atmosphere and being profoundly influenced by it, died in here.
Following his passing, the citizens established that, in honor of the typical style of the painter's work, all the buildings in Sidi Bou Said should be white and with blue doors and windows. Walking through the magical streets of the town you will be amazed and struck by the incredible variety of decorations that embellish the doors of all the buildings, painted blue and framed by splendid flowering vines!
Towards the end of the 19th century, Sidi Bou Said became a favorite destination for many artists and intellectuals, such as Paul Klee and Henri Matisse, Oscar Wilde, Jean Paul Sartre and the wonderful Simone de Beauvoir. The magical atmosphere of the town, its wonderful climate and the calm of its streets attracted countless personalities, and a famous venue hosted them: the Café des Nattes, a beautiful and colorful place, where these painters, writers and philosophers had the opportunity to taste the local delicacies and the traditional mint tea, one of the symbols of the Maghreb!
While walking through the streets of Sidi Bou Said, stop for a visit to the Museum of Arab and Mediterranean Music and admire the vast and beautiful collection of musical instruments housed in the rooms of the residence of Baron d'Erlanger. Characterized by the typical city colours, the residence houses an incredible miscellany of objects and musical instruments from the various areas of the Maghreb and from countless countries overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
