Sidi Bou Siad is the abbreviation of the Muslim saint's name who lived here. His full name was Abou Said ibn Khalef ibn Yahia Ettamini el Beji. This lovely blue and white village is gaily perched on the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Tunis and is perhaps the most cherished in Tunisia. Upon arrival on the TGM train, we had to dodge the workers refreshing all the Tunisian Blue paint at the railway station. Everything in this town is about the whitewashed white of the buildings, Tunisian Blue trim and the green of the foliage that embraces all the city.

The legend of this city tells of Saint Louis coming to wage war and he fell in love with a Berber princess who (I assume) taught him the magic and mystery of weaving rugs – more on this later .

We dined at a fantastic restaurant sampling a great seafood sampler, leg of lamb, scallops, grouper with couscous and seafood with pasta. The Tunisian wine was fantastic. The proprietor spoke fluent English along with probably several other languages and is extremely proud of his country. He proclaims that the Tunisians taught the Romans how to grow grapes and make wine and upon learning that Kelsey is studying Arabic poetry, proceeds to recite jahilaya (concept of "ignorance of divine guidance") poetry from memory and explain its uniqueness and cultural significance.