NAZARETH, Israel — This is the largest Arab city in Israel, in the Northern District of the country.

Fadoul Mazawi parked his shiny Lexus on a side street in the city. He gingerly worked his way between two other brand-new cars, a Mercedes and a BMW. “This is not the Nazareth that you once knew,” he said with a broad grin. ”What you see around here is not only a thriving Arab city, but [also] an Arab culture that is quite unlike what most Jews have come to know.”

The main street was bustling with passersby. People were coming and going in and out of spacious shops resembling fancy showrooms and featuring the latest fashions in all areas of life, from children's clothing to mobile devices. Two salesladies in one of the electronics showrooms were wearing traditional stylish headscarves, while two other salesgirls working in the same store were dressed in a modern style, one wearing a miniskirt and the other, colored shorts.

In the background, the muezzin’s call for the noon prayer was heard above the racket, but the murmur of the prayers was drowned in the din of the busy Nazareth street. Hundreds of tourists were getting off buses, on their way to the Church of the Annunciation. Some Muslims were praying just below the church, where the Shihab al-Din mosque had been standing until a while ago, before being dismantled due to some religious dispute with the Vatican.