Travel Guide Sidi Bouzid

Sidi Bouzid is 3 hours drive from the capital, 1 hour 30 from Sfax and 1 hour 50 from Sousse. It is here that, on December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a young fruit and vegetable seller of 26 years, whose goods are confiscated by the authorities, decides to kill himself in public, by setting himself on fire, a gesture that will be the origin of the Tunisian revolution of January 2011. Following the death of the young Bouazizi, the riots in Sidi Bouzid will spread to the whole region and then to the whole country until the flight of the former president Ben Ali on January 14, 2011.Far from the sea (the nearest being in Sfax) and the capital, surrounded by mountains, Sidi Bouzid suffers from an enclavement that has limited its development. Nearly 40,000 inhabitants live in the city; regional administrative center, Sidi Bouzid is mainly an agricultural region, the plains benefit to the cultivation of cereals, fruit trees and market gardening. First producer of vegetables in the country, it is also known for the breeding of a lamb of very good quality, certified A.O.C. The governorate represents 20% of the national vegetable production, 13% of the production of almonds and 10% of olive production. A Higher Institute of Technological Studies (ISET) was created on September 4, 2003. It meets the training needs of senior technicians in agribusiness and agricultural equipment engineering. This institute is part of the desire to decentralize higher education.Far from any tourist site (41 km from Sbeïtla, the nearest), in the heart of Tunisia, Sidi Bouzid deserves a detour in a well-designed tour. It is a lively place, a rural and modern crossroads for a whole region and the capital of a governorate, the equivalent of a prefecture. Coming from Gafsa, the first vision of Berber-style buildings is only moderately exciting, as is that of the very European shopping center nearby. But, very quickly, you are won over by a more local atmosphere, especially around the bus station and the market.If you have a car, take the P13 going west towards Kasserine, join the GP3 and stop in Sbeïtla.