TUNISIEAt the heart of the medina you will find a city centre full of life and entertainment with its traditional souks and cafes, the Rhaba. The surrounding buildings are inspired by Italian, Tunisian, Moroccan or oriental architecture.
The Medina is full of reproductions of symbolic monuments related to the different eras and civilizations of Arab history. The Skia al kahla gate for example is representative of Fatimid architecture. The Red Dome is as a jewel of Arabic architecture in Sicily and the Golden Tower, recently transformed into a marine museum is one of the most beautiful testimonies of the Muslim civilization of Seville. You may also admire the Blue Tower, a tribute to the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech.
Further away stand the ancient walls of the city of Mahdia dating from the 10th century, as well as the ruins of the ramparts of the city of Sfax. Theses incredible memorial sites are will allow you to dive into Tunisia’s legends and history and legends.
The coffee mats called the top coffee: one of the emblematic cafes of Sidi Bou Said. It is the heart of the village and a meeting place. The entrance is composed of two terraces separated by stairs that lead to the interior of the room. Inside the dokkana / masonry benches covered with red and green mats like the columns that frame them. Paintings, shelves and brass decorate the walls. It corresponds to the old door of the mosque and the mausoleum of Sidi Bou Said, the patron saint from which the village takes its name.
Customers usually come to drink a "Turkish" coffee flavored with orange blossom or sip a tea with mint and pine nuts, smoke hookah, play cards, chkouba / skopa, this Catalan game that arrived in Tunisia Via Sicily. At certain hours and in good weather, customers invest the terraces and tables are even set down on the small esplanade surrounded by shops.