The Old Town of Nablus

Description of the site: The city is located on the southern bank of the valley at the end of the foothills of Mount Gerizim, and it is considered one of the historical developments of the city, which was re-established several times, starting from the fourth millennium BC, and it was established on the site of Tel Balata (Shechem the Canaanite), 2 km east of the old town, then the city was re-established again in 72 AD in the Roman era, and it bore the name Neapolisthat means the new city, and it was built on the ruins of the Roman city.The city plan is based on a main street, which runs through it starting from its western gate and ending at the eastern entrance, parallel to another street in the north called Al-Khan Street. The streets are conjoined together through several secondary roads and neighborhoods in several locations along their extension. The city includes six residential neighborhoods: Al-Gharb Neighborhood, Al-Yasmina Neighborhood, Al-Aqaba Neighborhood, Al-Qarioun Neighborhood, the Qisaria Neighborhood, and Al-Habila Neighborhood. They were distributed along the path of the city's main street, and were directly connected to it. This street was called Al-Nasr Street, celebrating the victory of Saladin's forces over the Crusaders.In the Ottoman period, the city's public square and Al-Nasr Mosque were attached to the street for the second street, which is Al-Khan Street. The function was to continue the commercial movement in the city's markets, the most important of which are Al-Haddadin Market, the Onion Market, Khan Al-Tajjar, Khan Al-Wakalah, Al-Khan Al-Jadid, and others. The six neighborhoods housed the city's residents with their various families, and each one contained many yards, each designated for one of the extended families.The old town includes nine historical mosques, a Samaritan synagogue, and several churches distributed among its neighborhoods, and about 15 Islamic shrines and corners are spread in its various parts. In addition to many water fountains and historical palaces dedicated to some ruling families, such as the Abd Al-Hadi family, the Touqan family, and the Al-Nimr family.The city embraced nearly 40 buildings of historical soap factories, and eight public baths known as Turkish bathhouses, and the city had six gates in its semi-circular surroundings, which were opened in the morning and closed in the evening.The city expanded rapidly outside its historical walls at the beginning of the last century. The city has gained wide fame inside and outside Palestine because of its administrative, industrial, and commercial centrality, the beauty of its buildings and abundance of water, the amount of soap exports that bear its name, and its manufacture of the most famous kinds of sweets, on top of which is the world-famous Nabulsi Kunafa.It was visited by many foreign and Arab travelers and described it with the most beautiful descriptions, and they gave it many names, such as the Nest of Scholars, Jabal al-Nar, and Little Damascus. The Old Town has witnessed great interest from Nablus municipality and the private sector for two decades. The old town of Nablus has become a commercial and tourist center that attracts a rapidly growing tourist and commercial movement, whether from the people of the city, other Palestinian cities, or incoming tourism.It has become a commercial and tourist center that attracts a rapidly growing tourist and commercial movement, whether from the city's residents, other Palestinian cities, or inbound tourism.