Nazareth

Nazareth (Hebrew: נָצְרַת) is the biggest city in Galilee, in the North District of Israel. It covers 14.1 sq km (5.5 sq mi) and has a population of 72,000 (2011 estimate) within a metropolitan area of 210,000 people. The population of Nazareth today is composed mainly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. It is the largest city in Israel with a predominantly Arab population, and is regarded as an Arab capital of Israel.


Nazareth, Israel

Places of Interest in Nazareth

Nazareth is known among Christians as the childhood hometown of Jesus. For that reason, it has become a travel destination of many Christian travelers and pilgrims. Within Nazareth itself are shrines to significant biblical events.

Nazareth is located in a bowl-shaped valley, with the base around 320 m (1,050 ft) above sea level while the crest some 490 m (1,600 ft) high. It is 25 km (16 mi) to the northwest of the Sea of Galilee and 9 km (5.6 mi) from Mount Tabor. During the British Mandate in Palestine (1922-1948), Nazareth was populated mostly by Arab Christians. Since then, the Christian community has dwindled in numbers, while the Muslim population has grown significantly, main partly to it having absorbed displaced Palestinians from neighbouring towns following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Islam was introduced to Nazareth when the Muslim conquered Palestine in AD 637. Nevertheless there remains until today a significant Arab Christian community. During the crusades, control over the town shifted back and forth between the locals and the Europeans, causing much upheaval to its residents and to its religious composition.

Nazareth was captured by Napoleon Bonaparte during the Syrian Campaign from 1798 to 1801, before being forced to retreat by the Ottomans. In 1830, the area was ruled by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, but once again returned to Ottoman control in 1840. It was part of the Arab State under the 1947 UN Partition Plan, but fell under Israeli control following Operation Dekel on 8-18 July, 1948.

In the past decade, the situation in Nazareth remains volatile with occasional flare-ups.


Salesian Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent, Nazareth