Sidi Bou Said
Sidi Bou Said – a corner of north Africa unlike anywhere else in the region.
The village looks over the Mediterranean Sea from a cliff-top setting, but the village itself is every bit as beautiful.
The houses, with their whitewashed walls and blue windows and doors, are postcard perfect, as are the cobble-stone streets.
No wonder that the place inspired a generation of artists, with the likes of Paul Klee and Gustave-Henri Jossot drawn to the village in the early part of the 20th century.
Rodolphe d’Erlanger was the man who took the decision to apply the blue-and-white colour scheme, which now, almost 100 years on, still typifies the place.
Many, however, skim through the town in half a day and scarcely scratch the surface.
There is a charming hotel, the Dar Said, to stay in for a few days. There is a beautiful restaurant in the town to enjoy the evening’s setting sun.
And there are traditional cafes, as spectacular as any the Middle East can boast, where the mint tea is sweet and refreshing, and the views are second to none.
I couldn’t suggest a visit to Tunisia without Sidi Bou Said – and the more time you spend there, the more you get out of a unique place.
