ancient ruins
Caesarea Maritima
A spectacular Roman-era port city with a grand amphitheater, aqueducts, and crusader fortifications on the Mediterranean coast.
46 km · about 55 min drive
AsiaPalestineWest Bank
Nablus
West Bank, Palestine · Asia
About Nablus
Nablus sits on the route: 5 minutes from ‘Aşīrah ash Shamālīyah, 46km from Caesarea Maritima.
Nablus is in West Bank, Palestine, with about 130,000 people. The nearest town is ‘Aşīrah ash Shamālīyah, about 4 km away.
Nablus ( NA(H)B-ləs) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Nablus Governorate. It is located approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Jerusalem, between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim with a population of 156,906. The city is a commercial and cultural centre of Palestine, home to An-NajahRead more
National University, one of the largest institutions of higher learning in Palestine, and the Palestine Stock Exchange. Nablus is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Nablus has been traditionally associated with the ancient city of Shechem. However, Shechem is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in the Balata al-Balad suburb of the West Bank.
The modern name of the city can be traced back to the Roman period, when it was named Flavia Neapolis by Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 CE. During the Byzantine period, conflict between the city's Samaritan and newer Christian inhabitants peaked in the Samaritan revolts that were eventually suppressed by the Byzantines by 573, which greatly dwindled the Samaritan population of the city. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, the city was given its present-day Arabic name of Nablus. After the First Crusade, the Crusaders drafted the laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Council of Nablus, and its Christian, Samaritan, and Muslim inhabitants prospered. The city then came under the control of the Ayyubids and the Mamluk Sultanate. Under the Ottoman Turks, who conquered the city in 1517, Nablus served as the administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding area corresponding to the modern-day northern West Bank. Much of Nablus' history is preserved in its Old City, which contains more than 100 monumental buildings.
After the city was captured by British forces during World War I, Nablus was incorporated into Mandatory Palestine in 1922. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw the entire West Bank, including Nablus, occupied and annexed by Transjordan. Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, the West Bank has been occupied by Israel; since 1995, it has been governed by the Palestinian Authority as part of Area A of the West Bank. Today, the population is predominantly Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Nablus?
Within an hour or so of Nablus: Caesarea Maritima (46 km), Ajloun Castle (46 km), Church of the Holy Sepulchre (49 km), Jerusalem Old City (49 km).
Are there any good drives near Nablus?
The nearest famous roads are King's Highway and Scorpions Ascent (Ma'ale Akrabim).
Where is Nablus?
Nablus is in West Bank, Palestine, about 4 km from ‘Aşīrah ash Shamālīyah.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 130,326
- Continent
- Asia
- Country
- Palestine
- Region
- West Bank
- Timezone
- Asia/Hebron
- Coordinates
- 32.2211, 35.2544
Tags
Worth the detour from Nablus
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
castle
Ajloun Castle
A 12th-century Ayyubid castle built by Saladin's general on a hilltop to control the Jordan Valley iron mines and counter Crusader expansion.
46 km · about 55 min drive
cathedral
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Christianity's holiest site, built on the traditional locations of Jesus's crucifixion and burial.
49 km · about 55 min drive
landmark
Jerusalem Old City
A walled sacred city of one square kilometer containing holy sites for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam within four historic quarters.
49 km · about 55 min drive
landmark
Western Wall (Wailing Wall)
The holiest site where Jews can pray, a 2,000-year-old limestone remnant of the Second Temple retaining wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
49 km · about 55 min drive
landmark
Dome of the Rock
The iconic gold-domed Islamic shrine on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, built in 691 CE over the sacred Foundation Stone.
49 km · about 55 min drive
museum
Yad Vashem
Israel's official memorial to the Holocaust, with deeply moving exhibits and a striking modernist museum built into a mountainside.
50 km · about 60 min drive
landmark
Old Jaffa
One of the oldest port cities in the world with 4,000 years of history, now an artists' quarter with galleries, restaurants, and views of Tel Aviv's skyline.
51 km · about 60 min drive
Driving roads near Nablus
2 named roads, passes and coastal drives within 150km.
- 71 kmMount ArbelA cliff dropping 380m to the Sea of Galilee, with fortified caves cut into its face by Jewish rebels and a lookout taking in the whole lake to the Golan. Israel's only base-jumping mountain.
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