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Home  >  Israel • Trip Reports  >  A Non-Sabbath Sabbath In Israel
IsraelTrip Reports

A Non-Sabbath Sabbath In Israel

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 12, 2020February 12, 2020 18 Comments
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I was under the false impression that all of Israel shut down from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Not so in Nazareth.

We spent Friday at the Sea of Galilee, taking in three historic Christian sites during the day.

Our first stop was the Mount of Beatitudes, a beautiful church and convent built upon the place where Jesus is believed to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was a beautifully-manicured area and the view of the Sea of Galilee below was stunning. But it was crowded….

What is this?

Next, we stopped at the Tabgha, also called the Church of the Multiplication, believed to be where Jesus fed the 5,000. Inside the church are several beautiful 5th century mosaics. Augustine was much more interested in the fish in the pond…

Finally, we stopped in Capernaum, an ancient city that many believes Saint Peter lived. There were enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the Galilee (before the rain re-started and downpour began). Also on-site: the ruins of an old synagogue.

Sabbath Approaches

We had prepared for Sabbath by buying nuts, fruit, bread, and cheese…we didn’t know what would be open.

But as we drove back down to our guest house in Nazareth (we stayed at the Sisters of Nazareth, a Roman Catholic convent near the Basilica of the Annunciation with very spartan accommodations), we noticed that nothing appeared closed.

In fact, as we reached Nazareth we found it was hopping. Restaurants were open. Stores were open. Everything was open.

This was certainly not Jerusalem…

Why? Nazareth has a large Arab-Isareli population, many of whom are Christians. As a result, they do not observe the Jewish Sabbath but instead take Sunday off.

We found a little restaurant called Tishreen and ate dinner there. The food was wonderful. We had mushroom with cheese and sesame seeds, my wife had chicken, I had lamb, and we shared with Augustine. Even the cappuccino was excellent. 

The food was so good we went back again on Saturday night.

On Saturday everything was open as well. Markets. Cafes. Clothing stores.

That certainly gave us an easier time, though I was quite looking forward to the Sabbath experience. Then again, I suppose I picked the wrong city to experience it in…

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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18 Comments

  1. Fritz Reply
    February 12, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    Nazareth is NOT ISRAEL, it is in Palästina which is occupied from Israel.

    • Andy K Reply
      February 12, 2020 at 5:41 pm

      Proof?

      Also, I’m sure the Arabs that live there are much better off than their brothers in Ramallah!

      • Aaron Reply
        February 13, 2020 at 5:10 am

        Well, yes, living as second class citizens is probably preferable to living under a brutal occupation.

    • Leon Reply
      February 13, 2020 at 1:55 pm

      Hey Fritz,
      Keep your stupid politics away from a travel website. Nazareth is in Israel, I don’t remember Matthew mentioning he had to pass through Immigration to get into Palestine. That’s because there IS no country of Palestine. This is FACT.

  2. Tim A. Reply
    February 12, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    Did you find out the name of the animal? It’s called a hyrax. Really cute little guys.

  3. Paolo Reply
    February 12, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    It’s a Hyrax. Great report.

  4. AR Reply
    February 12, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    How did you find the tipping culture to be in practice? That receipt clearly indicates that a gratuity is “not expected but graciously accepted” (cue eye roll) to the tune of 10-20% per the hand-written note. Seems pushy as a result of you being presumably American where it’s more customary.

    • Matthew Reply
      February 12, 2020 at 5:06 pm

      I tipped 10%. The restaurant was pricey, as you saw. Service was good, but not great.

      • Uri Reply
        February 13, 2020 at 6:45 am

        10% is ok. That’s what I tip.
        Many will tell you 15% is minimum, I see it as bad American influence.

  5. DaninMCI Reply
    February 12, 2020 at 3:50 pm

    Glad you found a good restaurant in Nazareth. That city is crazy hectic and hard to find good restaurants in my experience. Great blog post.

    • Moose Reply
      February 12, 2020 at 4:23 pm

      You’ll find that it is mostly the more religious city of Jerusalem that completely shuts down for shabbat. In Tel Aviv, the sabbath is noticeably quieter, but you’ll still find that many restaurants and some shops are open. There is even now some limited public transport that operates in the city Friday night and Saturday…special vans operated by the municipal government take the place of a few bus routes.

    • Matthew Reply
      February 13, 2020 at 9:44 am

      Hectic Is an understatement, considering I had to drive through it twice!

  6. Fritz Reply
    February 12, 2020 at 4:12 pm

    AGAIN Nazareth is NOT IN ISRAEL it is Palästina territority occupied by Israel.

    • Andy K Reply
      February 12, 2020 at 5:38 pm

      Slow your roll, Fritz. It is LEGALLY a part of Israel and its Arab inhabitants are ISRAELI citizens.

      • Aaron Reply
        February 13, 2020 at 4:53 pm

        Yes, 20% of Israel’s citizens are Palestinians.

    • debit Reply
      February 12, 2020 at 6:18 pm

      Fritz, there is nothing called palestine anymore. Unfortunately.

      We need to resettle tens of millions of Palestinian. I suggest 3 million to UK, 3 million to France, 3 million to US to be resettled in red states and 1 million to Germany. U.s. that production proportion.

      Every israel loving jew in the world pays USD1000 towards a resettlement fund for Palestinians. Rest comes from the UK. If you are israel hating jew you don’t pay anything just a signed copy that you hate israel.

  7. P T Reply
    February 13, 2020 at 9:28 am

    Thank you for these reports. We are researching a trip to Israel and your reports are now part of our data base.

  8. Uri Reply
    February 13, 2020 at 10:33 am

    For an extreme Sabbath experience, try visiting Israel on Yom Kippur.
    In every Jewish city, Tel Aviv included, everything stops for 25 hours – no stores, no restaurants, no cars on the streets (just bicycles).

    Of course this makes most tourism activities impossible, but perfect for long cycling or walking.

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