Nazareth is the capital and largest city in the North District of Israel. It also serves as an Arab capital for Israel's Arab citizens who make up the vast majority of the population there. In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical associations. Modern-day Nazareth is nestled in a natural bowl which reaches from 1,050 feet above sea level to the crest of the hills about 1,600 feet. It is located between hills that form the most southerly points of the Lebanon mountain range.
The Church of the Annunciation is the largest Christian church building in the Middle East. In Roman Catholic tradition, it marks the site where the Archangel Gabriel announced the future birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. The Eastern Orthodox Church constructed St. Gabriel's Church at an alternative site for the Annunciation. The Melkite Greek Catholic Church owns the Synagogue Church, which is located at the traditional site of the synagogue where Jesus preached. The Church of St. Joseph's Carpentry occupies the traditional location for the workshop of Saint Joseph. The Mensa Christi Church, run by the Franciscan religious order, commemorates the traditional location where Jesus dined with the Apostles after his Resurrection. The Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent, run by the Salesian religious order, occupies a hill overlooking the city. There are also a number of mosques in Nazareth, the oldest of which is the White Mosque.