For those who are unaware, Nablus is a Palestinian city located in the northern West Bank and is well worth your visit. It is 30 miles (49km) north of Jerusalem. Nablus’s location is very important because it has connected trade routes throughout history.
The city is inhabited by more than 126,000 people, while the combined population of the city and its 56 surrounding villages is about 321,000 (2007 estimates). The name of the city comes from the Roman Emperor Vespasian who founded it in 72 BCE as Flavia Neapolis, making it the third oldest city in the world.
Some people wonder if they can visit Nablus using a rented car. Some Israeli companies prevent customers from entering Palestinian areas and consider doing so a breach of the contract thus canceling all insurance while driving in the West Bank.
Because of these restrictions, renting a car from a Palestinian company in East Jerusalem is your best bet. This allows you to drive into Palestine where you can easily head to Nablus. It is necessary to check the policies of each individual company since policies vary between agencies. Another option at your disposal is to drive a rented car as far as Jerusalem and then park it in the city. From there you can take public transportation from the Musrara area and head to Nablus or any other Palestinian city.
The third option is to drive to Ramallah (the nearest Palestinian city to Jerusalem) and then take public transportation to Nablus. This will cost you 18-20 NIS and takes almost 2 hours, with a return trip of the same duration costing the same price.
On Fridays, it is recommended to leave and come back early since it is a holiday for both Muslims and Jews. You can also arrange to stay in Nablus for one night or more. Nablus is considered the economic capital of Palestine and is home to one of the largest Palestinian universities, Al Najah University. Al Najah University was founded in 1918 as a primary school and later became a college. The city is famous for producing olive soap as well as knafeh which is the most famous oriental sweet in the Levant. Nablus also produces agricultural products such as cheese and thyme.
As outlined above, traveling to Nablus is an easy undertaking with multiple routes of transportation. This ease allows you to enjoy one of the most prosperous cities in Palestine. Just make sure that you do not leave without tasting knafeh!
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