Every door in Sidi Bou Said is blue. Not any blue -- a specific, saturated cobalt that pops against whitewashed walls under the North African sun. This was not always the case. The color scheme that makes this Tunisian hilltop village one of the most photographed places in the Mediterranean was the idea of one man, the Franco-German musicologist and painter Rodolphe d'Erlanger, who in 1915 persuaded local authorities to adopt the blue-and-white palette -- with bylaws enacted that year requiring houses to be painted white and trimmed in blue -- that now defines the town completely.
Before it was a tourist destination, before the paint, Sidi Bou Said was a place of pilgrimage. The town takes its name from Abu Said al-Baji, a religious figure who arrived at the village -- then called Jabal el-Menar -- in either the 12th or 13th century and established a sanctuary there. After his death in 1231, he was buried on the hill, and the settlement grew around his tomb. For centuries, the village perched above the Gulf of Tunis remained a quiet religious retreat. In the 18th century, wealthy families from Tunis began building summer residences here, drawn by the sea breezes and the views across the water toward the ruins of Carthage.
Something about Sidi Bou Said's light and geometry has always attracted creative minds. In 1914, Paul Klee visited with August Macke and Louis Moillet on their famous journey to Tunisia, a trip that transformed Klee's understanding of color. The occultist Aleister Crowley passed through. French philosopher Michel Foucault lived here for several years while teaching at the University of Tunis. Nobel laureate Andre Gide kept a house in the town. Tunisian artists of the Ecole de Tunis -- Yahia Turki, Brahim Dhahak, Ammar Farhat -- made the village a center of the country's modern art movement. The fashion designer Azzedine Alaia maintained a house that has since been transformed into an art gallery.
D'Erlanger did more than repaint the town. His own home, Ennejma Ezzahra -- the Star of Venus -- is now a museum and concert venue dedicated to preserving classical Arab-Andalusian music. Built in a style that blends North African and Art Nouveau elements, the palace houses a collection of musical instruments and hosts regular performances. D'Erlanger spent decades documenting and classifying Arabic musical traditions, producing a six-volume work on the subject. That his home became both a cultural institution and the reason an entire village adopted its distinctive color scheme speaks to the outsized influence a single patron can have on a place.
Modern Sidi Bou Said is accessible by the TGM light rail line that runs from Tunis through La Goulette to La Marsa, making it an easy day trip from the capital. The town's steep cobblestone streets climb to viewpoints overlooking the Gulf of Tunis, where the ruins of ancient Carthage are visible along the coast. At the Cafe des Delices, visitors drink mint tea and look out over the harbor. French singer Patrick Bruel immortalized the spot in his 1999 song "Au Cafe des Delices." The older Cafe des Nattes, with its reed-mat seating, has served customers since the days when the town was still a religious retreat. Former Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi was born here, as was Moufida Tlatli, one of the Arab world's first female feature film directors. Sidi Bou Said has always been a place where people come to see differently.
Located at 36.87N, 10.34E on a prominent hilltop overlooking the Gulf of Tunis, about 20 km northeast of central Tunis. The town's distinctive white buildings with blue accents are visible from moderate altitude along the coastline. Nearest airport is Tunis-Carthage International (DTTA), approximately 10 km to the southwest. The Carthage ruins, La Marsa, and La Goulette are nearby coastal landmarks.