Tunis - Souk des Chechias

On the east side of Dar el Bey in Tunis is the Souk el Bey, off which opens the Souk des Chechias (Souk ech Chaouachiya), occupied since time immemorial by the makers of the woolen caps known as chechias. The craft was brought to Tunisia by Muslim refugees from Andalusia in the early 17th century. The Souk des Chechias leads to Rue Sidi Ben Arous, named after the founder of a puritanical brotherhood who after his death in 1463 was buried in the zaouia at No. 23.