ABSTRACT
There are many old towns in Israel which today funtion within an independent framework. In the past, there were a vast number of these towns in Israel but most of them were totally destroyed, a part remained as little villages or only as archaeological and historical remnants, while another part still functions as an old nucleus in the central business district of new and modern towns. Of all the ancient urban settlements which once existed in the mountainous Galilee, only Safed functions as a town today. In contrast to other towns, there were good reasons for Safed's perpetual existence for hundreds of years and therefore Jewish population lived there continuously throughout all time periods. Safed lost its regional position even during the time of the British Mandate due to its diminishing zone of influence which at one point, extended throughout the Galilee into southern Lebanon.
