When we begin to explore the historical treasures in Tunisia, we find countless golden pearls from different eras and historical dynasties. One of those treasures is Sidi Bou Sidi, a beautiful town situated about twenty kilometres North-East from Tunis.
A town with a blue white exceptional attractive architecture has a lot to offer to its visitors who visit it for the first time. it reminds you about the historical Andalusian and Arabic architecture. You can explore art galleries, old town and historical places, cafes, restaurants, local shops, handicrafts and much more.
This place is named after a historical figure سيدي أبو سعيد الباجي Abu Said Ibn Khalef Ibn yahia Al-Tamimi Al-Baji (1156-1231) commonly known as Sidi Bou Said.
He was an Arab Tunisian Sufi Scholar, who is remembered as a mentor of Abul hasan Ash-Shadhili during his stay in Tunisia. He also met famous Andalusian Scholar Ibn-Arabi during his years of stay in Makkah and Damascus.
During the time of Sufi Saint Abu Said, this place was known as Jebel al- Manar. He spend most of his later part of life praying here in this town. Therefore, this town was named after his name “Sidi Bou Said”.
This town of Sidi Bou Said gained international fame back in 1920’s when Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger, a French painter and musicologist, who built a palace with blue-white theme considered as one of the masterpiece of Arab Tunisian architecture.
This palace was given name Ennejma Ezzahra, which is now a museum, with a collection of musical instruments.
ART AND HANDICRAFTS:
Sidi Bou Said is an ideal place for artists, musicians, historians, authors, poets, architects or just simple tourists. Famous art galleries include Agorgi, Saladin, Ghaya and The Blue Violin which should be visited at least once during the tour.
As a Visitor, you should explore local street shops as you will find countless eye-catching handicrafts from all regions of Tunisia. The highlighting handicrafts include jewelry, pottery, crockery, carpets, ornaments and perfumes.
ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR YASMINE HAMROUNI FROM TUNISIA:
As a person born and raised in La Marsa, Sidi Bou Said has always been one of my favorite places around Tunis.
It is a village situated on a hill by the sea, and it is known for its charming architecture; white buildings, blue windows and doors, gardens overflowing with colourful flowers, bougainvillea and the pleasant jasmine smells and mesmerizing views.
The town’s cobbled streets are lined with art shops, souvenir stalls and quaint cafés. It is the perfect place for artists, and it has been preserved the way it is since 1915. From the top of the hill, you can see La Marsa and Carthage, as small as they appear to be.
Nothing is better than wandering around the village. It is full of surprises and no matter how many alleys you go through, and no matter how many turns you take, you find yourself wanting to explore every single part of it. It is very captivating.
For a person visiting Sidi Bou said for the first time, there is definitely a lot to see and a lot to do!
Sightseeing is the first thing that one should do. Following the cobblestone streets, visitors will catch glimpses of the sea with the mountain “Bou Garnin” -meaning; the two horned mountain.
There are plenty of monuments and attractions you could go to. One of these places is Palace Dar Nejma Ezzahra, known for its view of the sea, and built by Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger. It is a breathtaking place full of paintings, artefacts, traditional music instruments and beautiful architecture.
You can also take a look at the Museum Dar el-Annabi. It is a big house built in the 18th century and its rooms are known for their traditional style, preserved in order to showcase the traditional Tunisian lifestyle and through which the visitors can see a slice of life in Sidi Bou Said. The heritage in this museum is quite fascinating, and you will learn a lot about life in Tunisia.
The port of Sidi Bou Said is one of the most known places around. You can see it from the top of the hill. The clear blue skies and the boats, organized around a circle, is such a beautiful sight.
You can even go down from the other side and walk through it. And you can relax a bit in the “Café du Port” while looking at the boats getting gently rocked by the soft Mediterranean breeze.
If you are fond of coffee shops, then there are several cafés you could go to. Both modern cafés and traditional ones. But most have beautiful terraces.
The most famous café in Sidi Bou Said is café “Sidi Chabaane”, also called “Café Des Delices”, like the French singer Patrick Bruel calls it in his song about Tunisia. Nothing beats spending a good time there alone or with friends and drinking tea with mint and fresh almonds, or Arabic coffee while watching the sunset on a beautiful day. It is very peaceful and quiet, if you want to spend some time alone you could even try to smoke shisha!
Another important thing to do is to see art galleries and souvenir shops in Sidi Bou Said. They are very important. The most famous ones are Gorgi Gallery and Ghaya gallery, who focus on local artists.
When it comes to souvenir shops, you have a variety of things to buy. One of the most common souvenirs that people get is small wire bird cages, usually in white and blue, the typical colours of the village.
Sidi Bou Said has a very spiritual side, which a lot of people don’t get to experience easily if they don’t know the history that lies behind it. Sidi Bou Said is one of the leading figures of Sufism and he is buried there among with other people who were considered “saints” like Sidi Jebali, Sidi Dhrif, Sidi Boufares and Sidi Chabaane and Lella Sherifa, Sidi Bou Said’s daughter. Some spiritual people go and visit the places where they’re buried, lighting candles and praying and making wishes.
There are some religious celebrations that happen yearly in the summer, and they’re called “La kharja” where people play music and sing religious songs and light candles and walk around the entire village until early morning.
When it comes to food in Sidi Bou Said, it isn’t different from the rest of the Tunisian places. There are various restaurants and fast food places.
One thing you could eat is Brik, typical Tunisian food. It is a rectangular shaped wrapper stuffed with an egg, tuna, parsley and onion and fried in oil. It is served warm and is very crispy. The egg inside it better be soft. That’s the original recipe. But a lot of places like to get creative with it, by adding mashed potatoes, shrimp, or making different shapes instead of rectangular. It is delicious.
One more thing you could try is the Tunisian “Bambalouni” which is a Tunisian donut. It is prepared with a flour dough fried in oil and is eaten sprinkled with sugar or honey. There is a famous Bambalouni restaurant in Sidi Bou Said.
If you feel hungry, and that you need more than a little snack, you could go to the various restaurants in the village and have fish and chips, or couscous.
Note: We are thankful to the following for guide in our research.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dar-el-annabi
http://www.goulettevillageharbor.com/en/sidi_bou_said/
https://www.tripsavvy.com/sidi-bou-said-tunisia-the-complete-guide-4146949
https://www.dawn.com/news/1511369
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Said_al-Baji
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/sponsored/10-tunisian-wines-and-dishes-you-should-know-180960229/
Nice article.. Excellent narrative. I was feeling like i was walking around the streets of Sidi Boi Said.
Thanks Elaine
Nice article…. Loved it… Great work Nabeel Rashid and Yasmine Hamrouni
Thanks
Nice article
MashaAllah MashaAllah such a beautiful city…….Blue and white all over….
MashaaAllah great article loved it.
Thanks Mushtaq