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The Hidden Treasure Of Sidi Bou Said 3 ๐๐ ๐๐
The American writer Katherine Parker-Magyar, residing in New York has traveled to 40 countries. She had a crush on the village of Sidi Bou Said. ๐๐
This admiration, she expressed in her column at the American website The Daily Beast entitled: Forget Santorini, Check Out Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia ๐๐
Here are some excerpts from his chronicle:
Less popular than Morocco or Egypt, Tunisia is a hidden gem for most Americans in North Africaโand a quick ride on the TGM train revealed the countryโs biggest surprise of all. ๐๐
Only 12 miles north of the nationโs capital, Sidi Bou Said is an ancient blue and white town overlooking the Gulf of Tunis. Perched atop a steep cliff, the town, aptly nicknamed Ville Bleue, sparkles above the Mediterranean. As everyone with a social media account knows, this two-toned ambiance is most famously found in Santorini. Although travelers are obsessed with blue and white architecture, Sidi Bou Said has yet to be swarmed by Yacht Week castaways or selfie-stick wielding families of six. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
The townโs lack of social media exposure is sure to appeal to the discerning traveler, as will its mixture of North African influences, Arabic hospitality, and Mediterranean ambiance that is unique to the Maghreb. The village by the sea remains relatively untouched by mass tourism influences, astounding in this age of digital globalization when it feels like no corner of the world has yet to be geotagged. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
This town of endlessly photogenic proportions has long been a bohemian retreat. In the early 20th century, Tunis was an alternate Paris for artists of the Lost Generation, and Sidi Bou Said its glittering Montmartre. It inspired French writers (Simone de Beauvoir, Collette, Michel Foucault) and painters (Henri Matisse, who painted its famous blue doors). ๐โค๏ธ
Upon visiting the city, the artist Paul Klee declared : Colour has taken possession of me. No longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
A century later, Kleeโs words hold true. But you donโt have to be a famous painter to capture this dreamy ambiance: This painted city is an Instagram loverโs dream. The color scheme reflects the natural environment: the icily gorgeous North African sky, the cerulean Mediterranean sea. The light in North Africa is unlike anywhere else in the worldโpale, nearly iridescentโand never is it more beautiful than in Sidi Bou Said. If this sounds dramatic, I assure you one trip to the Maghreb would demonstrate my point. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
But if you donโt trust me, trust Andrรฉ Gide: the writer who described life in the city as bathing in a fluid, mother-of-pearl sedative. ๐โค๏ธ
Iโm happy to report the sedating atmosphere also alleviated my post-break up woes. Thereโs nothing so restorative as overseas travel, or as vindicating for me as an Instagram posted halfway across the world. Donโt mind the no filter needed and blue doors in the background. As the locals would say: chic, cโest la vie. ยป ๐โค๏ธ
The Hidden Treasure Of Sidi Bou Said 3 ๐๐ ๐๐
The American writer Katherine Parker-Magyar, residing in New York has traveled to 40 countries. She had a crush on the village of Sidi Bou Said. ๐๐
This admiration, she expressed in her column at the American website The Daily Beast entitled: Forget Santorini, Check Out Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia ๐๐
Here are some excerpts from his chronicle:
Less popular than Morocco or Egypt, Tunisia is a hidden gem for most Americans in North Africaโand a quick ride on the TGM train revealed the countryโs biggest surprise of all. ๐๐
Only 12 miles north of the nationโs capital, Sidi Bou Said is an ancient blue and white town overlooking the Gulf of Tunis. Perched atop a steep cliff, the town, aptly nicknamed Ville Bleue, sparkles above the Mediterranean. As everyone with a social media account knows, this two-toned ambiance is most famously found in Santorini. Although travelers are obsessed with blue and white architecture, Sidi Bou Said has yet to be swarmed by Yacht Week castaways or selfie-stick wielding families of six. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
The townโs lack of social media exposure is sure to appeal to the discerning traveler, as will its mixture of North African influences, Arabic hospitality, and Mediterranean ambiance that is unique to the Maghreb. The village by the sea remains relatively untouched by mass tourism influences, astounding in this age of digital globalization when it feels like no corner of the world has yet to be geotagged. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
This town of endlessly photogenic proportions has long been a bohemian retreat. In the early 20th century, Tunis was an alternate Paris for artists of the Lost Generation, and Sidi Bou Said its glittering Montmartre. It inspired French writers (Simone de Beauvoir, Collette, Michel Foucault) and painters (Henri Matisse, who painted its famous blue doors). ๐โค๏ธ
Upon visiting the city, the artist Paul Klee declared : Colour has taken possession of me. No longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
A century later, Kleeโs words hold true. But you donโt have to be a famous painter to capture this dreamy ambiance: This painted city is an Instagram loverโs dream. The color scheme reflects the natural environment: the icily gorgeous North African sky, the cerulean Mediterranean sea. The light in North Africa is unlike anywhere else in the worldโpale, nearly iridescentโand never is it more beautiful than in Sidi Bou Said. If this sounds dramatic, I assure you one trip to the Maghreb would demonstrate my point. ๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ๐โ๐ท
But if you donโt trust me, trust Andrรฉ Gide: the writer who described life in the city as bathing in a fluid, mother-of-pearl sedative. ๐โค๏ธ
Iโm happy to report the sedating atmosphere also alleviated my post-break up woes. Thereโs nothing so restorative as overseas travel, or as vindicating for me as an Instagram posted halfway across the world. Donโt mind the no filter needed and blue doors in the background. As the locals would say: chic, cโest la vie. ยป ๐โค๏ธ