Municipalities and Councils - Australians for Palestine

Tourism in Nablus
A Blend of Authenticity and Modernity
The Canaanite city of Nablus was
founded before 3000 BC. Built by the
Canaanite tribes east of its current
location in an area known as Tal Balata,
the city was called Shekem, which means
“the high land.” After demolishing the
city, the Romans built a new city in its
place in 72 AD, replete with Roman-style
architecture and culture, and renamed it
Neapolis, or “new city.”
Nablus. Photo from Palestine Image Bank.
Today, after 4,500 years, the city is still
rich in several historic and archaeological
sites, making it a national and global
centre of attraction. Visitors to the city can
undoubtedly touch the legacy of various
past civilisations, namely, Canaanite,
Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic.
Nablus exhibits several features that
make it a significant tourist attraction
for many local and international visitors
who are interested in historical as well
as recreational tourism. The old city is a
true treasure that embraces many historic
and popular landmarks and resembles a
national open museum. The Tal Balata
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site hosts the Canaanite Shekem and
forms a basic source of information
for researchers, historians, and those
concerned with the Canaanite civilisation
in Nablus and in the region. In addition,
the village of Sebastia also contains
a wealth of Byzantine and Roman
archaeological elements and has become
an important historical reference for the
entire Palestinian region. Furthermore,
Jacob’s Well is a religious landmark that
was a stopping-place for Jesus Christ on
his journey from Jerusalem to Galilee.
Nablus is counted among the most
attractive places in Palestine due to its
fascinating topographic nature. Sama
Nablus National Park, created by the
Nablus Municipality on the summit of Ebal
Mountain, has become a major resort for
Nablus citizens and those coming from
various parts of Palestine to enjoy the
magic scenery, calm atmosphere, and
mild breeze far from the city noise and
crowd. The old city is equally enjoyable
for both local citizens and tourists.
Given its aim of promoting and
developing the tourism sector while
preserving the cultural heritage of
the city, the Nablus Municipality
has recently launched some
rehabilitation and restoration projects
for a number of old mosques,
alleyways, squares, and historic
buildings in the old city. Many of
these sites suffer severely and need
intensive restorative measures and
interventions due to the systematic
vandalism caused by the Israeli army
during the continuous incursions
into the city during a period of
more than eight years. The tourism
sector lies within the strategic plan
of the Nablus Municipality and was
given high priority by the current
and former councils. The strategies
adopted by the current council
include encouraging investment
and partnership initiatives with
the private sector to enable the
promotion of the tourism sector
through developing Jamal Abdul
Nasser Public Garden and creating
various on-site recreational facilities
such as a kayaking lake, an
amusement park, and a cable car.
In addition to ordinary tourism,
Nablus has witnessed another form
of tourism that has recently emerged,
namely, medical tourism. Data and
statistics indicate a vast increase in
visitors coming from the surrounding
cities and villages seeking medical
treatment and health care in the
various public and private hospitals
and health clinics throughout the city.
Nablus has become the treatment
place of choice for those who suffer
from challenging health problems.
Physicians at Nablus hospitals have
been able to carry out a number of
unique surgical interventions for the
first time in Palestine, procedures
such as open-heart surgery and
sterility operations. Such medical
initiatives contribute to a great extent
to promoting Nablus as a health care
destination.
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Downtown Nablus.