Sidi Bou Said is a town in northern Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

 located about 20 km from the capital, Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

.

The town got its name for a Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 religious figure who lived there, Abou Said ibn Khalef ibn Yahia Ettamini el Beji (before he came along, it was called Jabal el-Menar). The town itself is a tourist attraction as it is known for the extensive use of blue and white colors all over the town. All kinds of souvenirs (some not even remotely connected to Sidi Bou Said and sometimes not to Tunisia itself) can be bought in the main street. While staying in Sidi Bou Said for a few days is not common, tourists from Hammamet

Hammamet

Hammamet is a town in Tunisia. Due to its beaches it is a popular destination for swimming and water sports. It was the first tourist destination in Tunisia...

 and other tourist towns usually come to Sidi Bou Said. It can be reached by a TGM train

TGM

Tunis-Goulette-Marsa or TGM is a 19 km Tunisian railway line linking the capital Tunis with La Marsa via La Goulette.The TGM was the first railway in Tunisia and inaugurated in 1872. Since 1905 it has been known as the TGM...

, which runs from Tunis to La Marsa

La Marsa

La Marsa is a coastal town in far north eastern Tunisia near the capital Tunis. It is located at around . The population is estimated as 65,742, as of 2006. The old summer capital of pre-colonial Tunisia, it is today a popular vacation spot for many middle class Tunisians.It is connected to Tunis...

.

Artists

Sidi Bou Said is still under reputation as a town of artists. Artists who lived there or visited Sidi Bou Said include Paul Klee

Paul Klee

Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...

, Gustave-Henri Jossot

Gustave-Henri Jossot

Gustave-Henri Jossot, also known as Abdul Karim Jossot , was a French caricaturist, illustrator, poster designer, Orientalist painter, writer and thinker.-Work:...

, August Macke

August Macke

August Macke was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter . He lived during a particularly innovative time for German art which saw the development of the main German Expressionist movements as well as the arrival of the successive avant-garde movements which...

, Saro Lo Turco and Louis Moillet. Tunisian artists in Sidi Bou Said are members of Ecole de Tunis (painting school of Tunis), such as Yahia Turki

Yahia Turki

Yahia Turki, , born Yahia Ben Mahmoud El Hajjem in 1903 in Istanbul, Turkey, died 1 March 1969, was a Tunisian painter described as the "father of Tunisian painting".-Biography:...

, Brahim Dhahak and Ammar Farhat.

History

In the 12th century/13th century AD Abou Said ibn Khalef ibn Yahia Ettamini el Beji arrived in the village of Jabal el-Menar and establishes a sanctuary. After his death in 1231, he was buried there. In the 18th century Turkish governors of Tunis and wealthy citizens of the latter built residences in Sidi Bou Said.

During the 1920s, Rodolphe d’Erlanger applied the blue-white theme all over the town.

Tourist destinations

• Kairouan
  Kairouan
  Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
  
  
• Tunis
  Tunis
  Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
  
  
• Hammamet
• Carthage
  Carthage
  Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
  
  

Education

Center Sidi Bou Said for Languages (Centre Sidi Bou Said de Langues et d'Informatique) is a language school next to the Sidi Bou Said TGM station which specializes in Arabic, with classes in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), classical Arabic, Tunisian Arabic and the various dialects of North Africa, the Gulf and the Levant.