Self Guided Tours
Recommended Tour of Nazareth – By Fauzi Azar Inn
This tour was written to give the independent travelers the opportunity to explore Nazareth and it’s many secrets. Please use the numbers on our map to guide you through the tour
We hope you will enjoy it and you are welcome to come and say hello at the inn
We are wishing you a great day!
Background
The city where the Virgin Mary received the news that she was to be the mother of the son of God; the city where Jesus grew up and from which he set forth with his message, is today the biggest Arab city in Israel, El Nasra, as it is called by its Christian and Muslim citizens who share its streets and markets, its aromas of coffee and spices, its bakeries and hummus places and its orange-brown Cnafe hair strings. In this urban web you just need to walk around, leaving your car in one of the parking lots (there are many and they cost little). Everything is close by, and if you cannot find something due to the poor sign-posting you just need to walk into one of the local stores and ask. The people of Nazareth are proud of their city and are happy to have guests in their city (but be aware that on Sundays most places are closed).
The order of the sites as it appears here creates a circular trail beginning and ending at the Church of the Annunciation, but there is no one way in which to visit the city. If you see a beautiful alley that deviates from the trail, explore it
14.The (Latin) Basilica of the Annunciation
The church was built over the cave where according to Christian belief Mary lived and where she was visited by the Angel Gabriel who announced her of her conception by the Holy Spirit. The Church has been destroyed many times throughout its history. The one standing here today was built in 1969 upon the remains of the old churches which have been incorporated into it.
In its lower level is the grotto with its three capellas and altars, reddish marble columns, mosaic and church remains from the Byzantine period. On the upper level is the larger church hall with its large mosaics, gifts from Christian communities from around the world. The doors of the church are inlaid with bronze and copper and on top of them are sculptures of important figures from Christianity. The dome of the hall is made in the shape of the white lily flower which is identified with Mary, and reaches almost 60 meters in height above the cave. The compound of the Basilica also includes Joseph’s church which was built over the house of Joseph the carpenter, Mary’s husband.
Opening hours: every day, 8am – 5:30pm tel.# 04 657 2501
37. El-Babour – The Mill of the Galilee
Go in through a little door on the right of the street following the aromas to a large shop that opened more than a hundred years ago as a flour mill and which today offers an array of fresh oils and spices which are a celebration to the eye the ear and the nose.
56. El Chamam El Kadim - Cactus Gallery
About 10 years ago Elias Shama, a native of the city opened a gallery and a souvenir shop selling hand-made jewelry and other artworks. During renovations of the building a large sauna construction was discovered. Under the tiles a historical treasure of the first degree was discovered. Archaeologists that oversaw the renovation discovered amazing things: that the sauna was built 2000 years ago and that the heating system was three times the size of a similar one discovered in the ruins of the old city Bet Shean. These discoveries point to a probably very large city in the times of Jesus, in contradiction to the commonly-held belief that it was in fact a small village at that time. The gallery itself stands over the ruins of the sauna and it is through it that you enter and where tours can be ordered.
Locations: near Mary Well’s Square
Opening hours: Gallery open Monday – Saturday 9am – 7pm, tours in the sauna are to be ordered in advance. Cost: to the gallery: free of charge; Tours: 120nis. for one person and to groups of two to four; 28nis. for a person for a group of five and more; 15nis. for a child over age 4. The price includes light snacks and guidance of half an hour. You can order a tour without snacks and than the fee is lower.
63. Greek Orthodox Church of the Annuncition
Also known as Saint Gabriel Church. In the crypt of the church flows Mary’s well, which on its edge, according to the belief of the Greek Orthodocs Mary was announced of her impregnation by the Holy Spirit. This annunciation church is small, but is considered one of the beautiful ones in Israel due to its many icons, beautiful murals and luxurious chandlers. The existing building has been built in the eighteenth century on top of ruins of a Byzantine church.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 7am-6pm closed between 10am-12pm
38. Suk Il Arayess – Bride’s Market
Once this suk was a must for every Arab bride, today it is not as active but still one can see young ladies searching for fabric, jewelry, candles, dresses and ornamental stores. This area of the city is exactly the place to abandon all maps and lose one-self in the alleys. One such store that still exists is Shebat.
Tel# 04 655 6003
38. Fauzi Azar Inn
Guests-house
Maoz Inon has traveled the world and has concluded that one does not need to go far away in order to enjoy other cultures and views. He has rented an old 18th century building in the heart of the old city and turned it into a beautiful guest house for travelers and tourists. The entrance to the house is through an enclosed court yard, and inside the house the tall ceilings are hand painted and the main living room is overlooking the Annunciation Basilica.
Cost: 200-400—nis. per night per couple; 80 nis. for additional person; 60 nis. For dormitory.
35. Mensa Christi Church
is located on a side street near the souk, on the way to the Salesian Church. This church, built in 1860, contains a slab of rock that Franciscans claim was the table at which the risen Christ ate with his disciples. Worth noting are the graffiti of numerous pilgrims from over the centuries. The front door neighbors got the church keys. Please leave a small donation.
23. Synagogue and Greek Catholic Churches
The Synagogue Church dates from the Crusader period. It stands next to the Greek Catholic Church in the midst of the old market. Tradition has it that this was the place where Jesus prayed and preached.
The Church was originally in the hands of Franciscans but passed into Greek Orthodox control during the rule of Daher al-Omar in the 18th century. In 1887 the adjacent Greek Catholic Church, with its magnificent dome and two bell-towers, was added to the old Crusader structure. Hours: Monday-Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9am-12:30am & 2:30pm-6pm; Wednesday & Saturday 9am-12:30am; Sunday closed.
27 The Market
The old market of Nazareth is rich with spice, fabric, jewelry shops and more. In Merchants Alley you will find merchants who practice long forgotten arts such as knife makers and in the vegetable market nearby you will discover all kinds of dry thorns you can spice a soup with, and vegetables you never heard of. The big house which reins the vegetable market belongs to El Fahum family, one of the oldest and most known in Nazareth. Under the house are two bakeries: one which sells a sweet bagel with anise, the other an excellent pizza. As the road continues, you will smell the aroma of coffee and you will know you have reached the coffee mill of El Fahum family.
24. The White Mosque.
The white mosque, the first mosque in the city was built by Abdalla El Nini, two hundred years ago. El Nini was a well respected judge and the first of the El Fahum tribe (El Fahum means the wisest of man). He set forth a policy that preaches for love and respect. In order to make sure his policy will continue after his death, he wrote in his will that the responsibility on the mosque will be given to the wisest of his sons or daughters or to the Ka-a-bee in Mecca so that the mosque will not be governed under any rule. Till today, the person responsible for the mosque (Ateph El Fahum reads all the sermons before they are preached to make sure they are fit and in honor of holidays of other religions sermons are being addressed in their honor.
Opening hours: All light hours except praying hours and without pre arrangement.
Notes: please dress modestly and speak softly. In carpeted areas please take off shoes.
Paulus the sixth street
Paulus the Sixth Street is a commercial street and not a touristy one. Alas, it houses some traditional sweet stores two of whom are highly recommended. one is El Muchtar (17). The other sweet store is El-Machroom (6). A little tip is that the locals buy Knaffe at El Muchtar; Baklawa at El Machroom’s.
2. Nazareth Village - Recreation of a village from the first century, including houses, caves for storage and even a synagogue, goats are wondering about, people dressed in the fashion of the time working the land in olden tools, and Joseph the carpenter is there too. During construction of the village ruins from Second Temple time were discovered. There is a museum as well, where the history of the city is described.
Location: In front of the French Hospital. Opening hours: Mon.-Sat.9am-5pm reserve in advance.
Fee:39 nis per person; 34 nis per person in a group of more than ten; for families- 30 nis. for an adult, 18 nis for children ages 5-15 years old, free for children under age 5; discounts for students.
Tours about the agricultural and social lives in that period: (reserved in advanced and included in the entrance fee). There are also agricultural tours and you can order a meal in a bedueen tent.
1. The Mount of Precipice
No visitor to Nazareth should miss the breath-taking panorama from the city’s highest point, about 2 km to the south-east of the city. The Mount of Precipice, also known as the Mount of The Leap of the Lord and Jabal Kufsi in Arabic, is traditionally the place in the Bible where the people of Nazareth took Jesus to hurl him into the abyss below.
The Mount has been developed into a tourist area, with a viewing platform which overlooks the whole of the Jezreel Valley, from Jordan and the Gilad Mountains in the east, past Mount Tabor (the site of Jesus’ Transfiguration) to Mount Carmel, Haifa and the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
The area also includes the Cave of the Leap (Kufze cave) — an archaeological site of worldwide importance discovered in the 1970s. Thirteen human skeletons and over 60,000 artefacts dating back 50,000 years, to the Late and Middle Stone Ages, were unearthed here