The Balcony Of The Mediterranean

The houses covered with lime, the blue shutters, the studded doors make of the whole of this village a monument. Sidi Bou Saïd, does not lack charm. To walk in this village is to be transported in history and the mystic.

In Sidi Bou Saïd, the visitor is subjugated by the beauty and originality of the place. Cozy alleys, bougainvillea fuchsia and white and moucharabiehs, the small village of 5000 inhabitants was the first protected site in the world. Attached to Carthage, the village is classified by Unesco as a world heritage of humanity since 1979. Perched on a hill, Sidi Bou Saïd proudly dominates Carthage. Its history begins with the Carthaginians and the Romans. In the eleventh century, the Almoravids chose this strategic location for the defense of the coasts.
Later, Khalaf Ben Yahia Tamimi El Beji settled in Djebel Menara on the heights, teaches Sufism and climbs the guard of the coasts. It is undoubtedly from this period that the mysticism of the place dates. The sailors were convinced that the man was protecting them. At his death, in 1231, a zaouia was built and it was not until the 17th century that the village took the name of its protector, Sidi Bou Saïd.
At that time, the Tunisian bourgeois appreciate the splendid view and the freshness of the alleys. They built sumptuous villas of Arab-Andalusian architecture without really taking into account an urban plan. Today it is no longer surprising to see these houses scattered here and there. This is also the charm of the village.
Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger is the other man who made Sidi Bou Said famous. Loving music and the arts, he was passionate about the architecture of the village. Thanks to his pleadings, in 1915 a decree protects Sidi Bou Saïd from the anarchic constructions and obliges the owners of the houses to respect the blue and white color. Today, the House of Erlanger houses the Center of Arabic and Mediterranean Music.

Tunisians like to come, walk through the narrow streets and breathe the smells of tea and jasmine. On weekends the mats' coffee and the Sidi Chaabane coffee are not empty. There is an atmosphere of nonchalance, an artistic fragrance left by the passage of many artists and writers. Simone de Beauvoir, Colette, André Gide and Michel de Foucault never got tired of this village where they could stroll for hours watching the bay of Carthage and the waves of the Mediterranean. We imagine them lying at the Café des mats, sipping a mint tea. Some of them have the chance to live there, to feel this incomparable atmosphere on a daily basis. Some tourists choose to stay in one of these family houses transformed into guest rooms and many enjoy an evening in a gourmet restaurant whose terrace overlooks the sea. All the Tunisians have paced the cobbled alleys dreaming of one of these Bicolour residences that exist only in Sidi Bou Said.

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