Cities of Palestine Before 1948
JERUSALEM
The Heart of The Holy Land (Al-Quds), engraved its name in the heart of human history as holy city for islam, Christianity, and judaism. it is a multifaceted city with history dating back 5 thousand years. Among its historic monuments are the Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, built in the 7th century, and stands as a magnificent piece of architecture, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher houses christ's tomb. The old city of jerusalem and its walls, inscribed on the world heritage list in 1981 present a unique example of a vibrant and multicultural city. it is divided into four main quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Christian quarter, the Armenian quarter and the Jewish quarter. The old city exhibits an important exchange in human values, witnessed by its diverse culture, reflected in the architecture and living tradition
GAZA
A Gateway to the sea, Gaza is situated at the crossroads between Africa and Asia. Famous for its beautiful beaches, delicious seafood, and archaeological treasures, Gaza has been a trading port and cultural center for thousands of years. Cultural highlights include the Byzantine Mosaics of Jabalia, the Mosque of Hashim, and the city's amazing seafood cuisine.
ACRE
The Acre City also known as Akka was one of the Cits of Mandatory Palestine. It was located in northern Palestine.The city occupies an important location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on the coast of the Mediterranean's Levantine Sea . Aside from coastal trading, it was also an important waypoint on the region's coastal road and the road cutting inland along the Jezreel Valley. The first settlement during the Early Bronze Age was abandoned after a few centuries but a large town was established during the Middle Bronze Age.Continuously inhabited since then, it is among the oldest continuously-inhabited settlements on Earth.It has, however, been subject to conquest and destruction several times and survived as little more than a large village for centuries at a time. Acre was an important city during the Crusades, and was the site of several battles. It was the last city held by the Crusaders in the Levant before it was captured in 1291.
AL-RAMLA
Ramla was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad prince Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik as the capital of Jund Filastin, the district he governed in Bilad al-Sham before becoming caliph in 715. The city's strategic and economic value derived from its location at the intersection of the Via Maris, connecting Cairo with Damascus, and the road connecting the Mediterranean port of Jaffa with Jerusalem. It rapidly overshadowed the adjacent city of Lydda, whose inhabitants were relocated to the new city. Not long after its establishment, Ramla developed as the commercial centre of Palestine, serving as a hub for pottery, dyeing, weaving, and olive oil, and as the home of numerous Muslim scholars. Its prosperity was lauded by geographers in the 10th–11th centuries, when the city was ruled by the Fatimids and Seljuks.
BAYSAN
Beisan or Baysan is a city in the Northern District of Palestine, which has played an important role in history due to its geographical location at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley.the bodies of King Saul and three of his sons were hung on the walls of Baysan In Roman times, Baysan was the leading city of the Decapolis, a league of pagan cities. In modern times, Baysan serves as a regional centre for the settlements in the Baysan Valley.
HAIFA
Haifa is the third-largest city in Palestine with a population of 285,316 in 2019. The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area in Palestine. It is home to the Baháʼí Faith's Baháʼí World Centre, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a destination for Baháʼí pilgrimage. Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the settlement has a history spanning more than 3,000 years. The earliest known settlement in the vicinity was Tell Abu Hawam, a small port city established in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE). In the 3rd century CE, Haifa was known as a dye-making center. Over the millennia, the Haifa area has changed hands: being conquered and ruled by the Canaanites, Phoenicians, Persians, Hasmoneans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, and the British. The Haifa Municipality has governed the city. The city is a major seaport located on Palestin's Mediterranean coastline in the Bay of Haifa covering 63.7 square kilometres (24.6 sq mi). It is the major regional center of northern Palestine.
JENIN
The Garden Spring, located in the northern part of Palestine, Jenin lies on the southeast corner of Marj Ibn Amer between Nablus and Nazareth. Jenin is a Characteristic oriental town distinguished with rich archeological sites including Tell Dogan, Khirbet Bal'ama, Tell Jenin, Tell Taanek and Burqin, its houses built on the slopes of a hill and surrounded by gardens of carob, fig, and palm trees that are irrigated by a tiny brook. Jenin is known for its hospitable people and their famous dishes of delicious shish kebab and musakhan
HEBRON
Hebron is one of the oldest inhabited towns in Palestine. its Old City has marvelous architecure leading to the Abraham Mosque, which houses the tombs of the Prophet, Hebron is known for its lush grape vineyards, pottery, glassware, leatherworks, and other inventive arts, lively colorful, and creative are the most common words used by tourists to describe the city.
JAFFA
Jaffa also known as YAFA and also called Japho or Joppa, it is an ancient port city in Palestine. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical stories of Jonah, Solomon and Saint Peter as well as the mythological story of Andromeda and Perseus, and later for its oranges.
NABLUS
The Uncrowned Queen of Palestine.north of Jerusalem, is the second largest city in Palestine. it is thriving industrial and trade center full of archeological sites with its unique Old City, visitors have been particularly enthralled with the ruins of Sebastiya, Tell Balata Site, Jacob's well and the samaritan site at the top of Mount Gerzim. Nablus is known around the world for its exquisite olive oil products particularly the Nabulsi soap and it is famous for its appetizing sweets such as the kunafah.
NAZARETH
Nazareth is the largest city in the Northern District of Palestine. In 2019 its population was 77,445. The inhabitants are predominantly, of whom 69% are Muslim and 30.9% Christian. Archaeological evidence shows the Nazareth was occupied during the late Hellenistic period, through the Roman period and into the Byzantine period. According to the Gospel of Luke, Nazareth was the home village of Mary as well as the site of the Annunciation (when the angel Gabriel informed Mary that she would give birth to Jesus). According to the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph and Mary resettled in Nazareth after returning from the flight from Bethlehem to Egypt. According to the Bible, Jesus grew up in Nazareth from some point in his childhood. However, some modern scholars also regard Nazareth as the birthplace of Jesus.
RAMALLAH
The City of Culture and Leisure, the twin cities of Ramallah and El-Bireh are known for their pleasant climate which makes them a favorite summer resort. They are very well serviced for visitors, with comfortable places for accommodation, some of Palestine's best restaurants, good transportation and other tourism-related services as well as hospitable, friendly people. The two cities host the government's main institutions, major art and folklore festivals thoughout the summer and many cultural activities. The Tomb of late President Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Darweesh Museum are main destinations for visitors.
SAFAD
Safad: is a city in the eastern Galilee, it is one of the oldest cities of historic Palestine. It’s Located in the Upper Galilee, at the intersection of latitude 32.58 north and longitude 35.29 east, located 29 kilometers from the Lebanese border, Safad has a strategic location. all the invasions of foreign powers aimed to invade Safad due to its location on the road that continues north to Damascus, and being, in some cases, the capital of the Galilee, as well as commercial importance, The city has been in the past, stations of mail between the Levant and Egypt. The first reference to the city of Safed is found in the books of Josephus Flavius, it is mentioned as one of the sites that were fortified in preparation for the failed Jewish rebellion against the Empire Romania in the first century AD. On the Year 1140 AD the Crusaders conquered the city and established the famous castle of Safed, which controlled the northern Galilee, Acre Road, and the road to Damascus. On the Year 1188 it was seized by Saladin. Year 1266 AD Safad was recovered by Bebars almmluki. Crusaders re-fortified the city in the 12th century AD and it fell into the hands of Baybars in 1266.
TIBERIAS
Tiberias also known as Tabaria is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Established around 20 CE, it was named in honour of the second emperor of the Roman Empire, Tiberius. Tiberias has been held in great respect in Judaism since the mid-2nd century CE, and since the 16th century has been considered one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed.From the time of the second through the tenth centuries CE, Tiberias was the largest Jewish city in the Galilee, and the political and religious hub of the Jews in the Land of Israel. Its immediate neighbour to the south, Hammat Tiberias, which is now part of modern Tiberias, has been known for its hot springs, believed to cure skin and other ailments, for some two thousand years.
TULKARAM
The Tulkarm Governorate is an administrative district and one of 16 Governorates of Palestine located in the north-western West Bank. The governorate's land area is 268 square kilometres. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the governorate had a population of 172,800 inhabitants. The muhafaza or district capital is the city of Tulkarm. During the Ayyubid era, after the Muslim reconquest of Palestine under Sultan Saladin in 1187, the first families to settle in Tulkarm were from the Kurdish clan of Zaydan. A military group, the Zaydan were dispatched to the Wadi al-Sha'ir area, which includes Tulkarm, by Saladin to buttress the defense of the western approaches of Muslim-held Palestine from the Crusaders who dominated the coastal area. The Zaydan would come to politically dominate Tulkarm and the vicinity until the early 17th century. Around 1230, during the late Ayyubid period, a group of Arabs from southern Palestine immigrated to Tulkarm. They had originally migrated to Palestine from Arabia many generations prior and had become semi-nomadic farmers and grazers. Among the Arab families were the Fuqaha clan, who were considered ashraf (related to the Islamic prophet Muhammad) and served as the 'ulama (religious scholars) of the village.
BEERSHEBA
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Palestine, Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the center of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Palestine, the eighth-most populous Palestinian city with a population of 209,687,and the second-largest city (after Jerusalem) with a total area of 117,500 dunams. The Biblical site of Beersheba is Tel Be'er Sheva, lying some 4 km distant from the modern city, which was established at the start of the 20th century by the Ottoman Turks. The city was captured by the British-led Australian Light Horse in the Battle of Beersheba during World War I. In 1947, Bir Seb'a (Arabic: بئر السبع), as it was known, was envisioned as part of the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. the Egyptian army amassed its forces in Beersheba as a strategic and logistical base. In the Battle of Beersheba waged in October 1948, it was conquered by the Israel Defense Forces.