Sidi Bou Said is a town in northern Tunisia, only 20 km from Tunis. This charming town is a tourist attraction in itself, as it is known for the extensive use of blue and white colors all over. The town got its name for a Muslim religious figure, Abou Said ibn Khalef ibn Yahia Ettamini el Beji, who lived there in the 12th-13th century AD. Turkish governors of Tunis and wealthy citizens of Tunis build residences in Sidi Bou Said during the 18th century.At the upper end of the main square in Sidi Bou Said is the world-famous Cafe des Nattes, which features in August Macke’s painting ‘View of a Mosque’ (1914). Since Macke’s time nothing essential has changed either in the exterior or interior of this typical Moorish coffee-house. The place got its name from the colourful plaits on which people settle to taste mint tea or smoke ‘shisha’ (water pipe).