Situated 15 kilometers west of Nablus and Jenin and 15 kilometers east of the Israeli coastal town of Netanya, Tulkarem's location has made it a crucial crossroads for foreign armies throughout history. Its central location between a plain and a mountain has made Tulkarem a commercially and strategically significant city. Many villages and farms send their produce to the town to be traded and redistributed throughout major local markets in the south Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron. It enjoys favorable warm weather, and as it is surrounded by springs, and thousands of acres of fertile land, Tulkarem, or "mount of vineyards" in Aramaic, has become the food basket of Palestine.
While there, try the city's signature dish, musakhan, composed of roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts served over taboon bread. Delicious!!