Most people associate Nazareth with Jesus in the Bible, and rightly so. This was where He grew up after returning with Mary and Joseph from Egypt. And, some pretty significant things happened here during His ministry–see below.

Now Nazareth is pretty well-known in the central north of Israel . It is one of the largest Arab cities with over 80,000 people. And while it is rich with history, it also has a lot to offer in terms of attractions.

So if you are wanting to see more of Israel besides Jerusalem and not just biblical history, come to Nazareth and experience these 10 things to love.

• No. 1 Sharwarma

Arabs are known for their meat dishes. To be a vegetarian is a foreign concept because just about everything comes with meat from rice dishes to stuffed peppers and everything in between.

Shawarma refers to how the meat is cooked on a huge skewer continuously roasting and the spices that come with it, like cumin, coriander, paprika and turmeric. It is a popular Mediterranean street food stuffed in pita bread with all kinds of vegetables and tahina sauce.

Apparently, Nazareth is one of the best places to get it. You will find no shortage of small and large shops and restaurants serving it up.

• No. 2 Knafe

Let’s keep the food theme coming!

Arabs also love their sweets, and you will find ice cream and pastry shops abounding, but if you want something truly from this region, you must try knafe, a warm cheese dish with something like vermicelli noodles layered on top, smothered in a simple syrup.

While Nablus on the West Bank is known for this sweet, warm dish, Nazareth holds the title for Israel. Once I took a two hour taxi ride from Tel Aviv back to Nazareth, so I got friendly with the driver, a young Jewish man. After he got over the horror that I lived in an Arab town, he asked me about the knafe and if I could buy some for him.

• No. 3 Christmas

For this kid at heart, this is a big deal. Because Israel is a Jewish state, Christmas is not really celebrated, except in places like Bethlehem in the West Bank–because that is where Jesus was born–and Jerusalem because there is enough of a Christian presence.

Then there is Nazareth. Christmas here is the closest is what I am used to back home:

• Lights everywhere…even when it’s not Christmas
• a Christmas market
• a Christmas Eve parade
• Gift-giving
• Christmas services

Even Jews and Muslims from the nearby towns flock into town during the season, participating in the festivities. I am so grateful to live in a town that has so much fanfare during this special time.

• No. 4 Easter

The same goes for Easter. While the day itself doesn’t have as much fanfare, this is one of the few places that you will see it celebrated.

And the interesting thing is that there are two days of Easter! That’s because there are both Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in the country, and they have different calendars.

So if you can’t celebrate Easter on one day, you can just wait a week, or even a month later, when the day will roll around again.

• No. 5 Choices

That actually goes for both Christmas and Easter, but it was pretty dramatic this year–2024–because the days were almost a month apart.

This actually highlights the beauty of having different religions interacting in such a small space: you get options.

You live in a Jewish town that shuts down during the Sabbath (because of the religious observance to do no work for a full 24 hour period)? No, problem! Come down to Nazareth, go to the mall and get yourself some sharwarma. It’s active.

Or you live in a predominantly Muslim village, and the traffic is insane because of Eid (which in Arabic means holiday)? Just drive on over to the Jewish town down the road where they have no clue what’s going on, and it’s fairly quiet.

Ahh, the beauty of choices…

• No. 6 Less Tension

When most people think of Israel, they automatically think of Jerusalem with Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Muslims and lots of unrest.

But there is more to Israel than the religious, political tension, and the beauty of the north is that it is fairly mild. I know so many Arabs who have Jewish friends and vice versa. Many go to school together in Haifa, the major city in the north, so they form good connections.

Just recently, I attended an Arab Christian wedding in Nazareth. Because the bride lives in Haifa, many of her Jewish co-workers also attended.

I even met an interracial couple, Jew and Arab, from Nazareth! It’s rare, but it happens.

You can definitely feel the difference between Jerusalem and cities, like Nazareth, in the north.

• No. 7 Rich & Educated City

I think one of the reasons why Nazareth is fairly peaceful is because most of the Arabs make good money, so they can afford to send their children away to the U.S. or Europe for university. This usually translates to the people being more open-minded and, therefore. tolerant.

Not in choices of food, mind you, but at least in terms of tolerating other people and ideas.

What this also means is that to be an American or European with tank tops or shorts is not so shocking. I don’t do it because I live here, but I also don’t have to wear long sleeves and pants, or only dresses. People accept that I am a foreigner, and I have felt like I can breathe more in comparison to smaller Muslim villages.

You’ll also see hostels, cute cafes and other cultural amenities, like theater and concerts. The city even has a bag-pipe marching band!

• No. 8 Jesus Trail

Ok, so you can’t really talk about Nazareth and NOT mention religion. I told you that this was Jesus’ hometown.

And what better way to commemorate it than to have a hiking trail in His honor?

That’s right! Israelis love to hike, and Jesus did a lot of walking around this area, so they have carved out the Jesus Trail. It goes through the major places he would have walked, like Kfar Kana, where He turned water into wine, up to Tiberias and the Galilee Sea.

And it starts here in Nazareth, winding through the Old City. So you can get history AND a hike in together! That definitely makes my heart beat!

• No. 10 History

This post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning what everyone knows Nazareth for: biblical history

This is the town where the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus . There are two churches to commemorate it: The Basilica of Annunciation, Roman Catholic, and the Greek Orthodox Church.

This is so important, that families even name their sons “Bishara,” which means annunciation in Arabic.

There is also the small synagogue nestled in the Old City where Jesus gave His famous sermon about setting the captives free (Luke 4 ).

And the Mount of Precipice where they allegedly tried to push Him off because they were offended at the said sermon.

It’s actually fairly far from the Old City, but has a breathtaking view of the Jezreel Valley. You can even see the field of Armageddon there.

So what are you waiting for? C’mon up to Nazareth for a few days. There is a lot to see and do. Then use it as a jumping off point to explore other places around, like Haifa and the Sea of Galilee. You won’t be disappointed. “Ahlan wasahlan!”