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Abraham Path Initiative
Abraham Path Initiative

Founded at the Global Negotiation Initiative at Harvard University
About the Initiative Updates & Global Media Stories The Route Opening the Path Local Initiatives Worldwide Initiative Support FAQS and Media Inquiries Donations Contact Us


Opening the Path

What We Are Doing Now…

At the moment, we are engaged in a number of efforts to open the Path. These activities include:

  • Researching the best route for development based on beauty and interesting historical and cultural sites,
  • Surveying the most appropriate terrain to begin to find and extend the most appropriate route,
  • Mapping the path on the ground in a very concise manner with GPS equipment; for example, see latest map of Jordan Highlands
  • Holding meetings in different villages to discuss the project, get feedback, and build local partnerships,
  • Working at the national level to gain approval from the governments involved,
  • Raising resources and funding to employ more people to assist with these efforts.

The Benefits of the Path

The Benefits

The Abraham Path will become a place of meeting — inspiring respect and building friendship and common interests between people of different faiths and cultures. There are also a number of more tangible priorities that are central to this vision. First among them is to make a positive impact on the lives and well-being of the people who live in the communities along the Path.

Economic prosperity through sustainable tourism

The path will create demand for products and services required by tourists and will stimulate local entrepreneurial activity to supply that demand, thereby generating income and employment along the length of the route. Similar long distance trails in other parts of the world have revitalized the economies of entire regions, and even managed to reverse the steady drift of young people away from the villages and towards the cities.

The success of these routes demonstrates the strong and rising demand for challenging forms of travel which involve nature, faith, history, and adventure. The creation of the Abraham Path will help to establish the Middle East as a leading destination for eco and cultural tourism, and to bring a share of the prosperity generated by tourism into rural communities that have not traditionally been beneficiaries of the travel industry.

Preservation of the region’s heritage and environment

Sustainable tourism can transform the neglected cultural heritage and landscape of a rural area into its most precious economic asset, encouraging local people to protect both the urban and rural environment of their region. The Abraham Path Initiative seeks to promote incentives for conservation by working with local people to restore sites of historic interest and to clean areas of the landscape that have already been damaged. Heritage projects might include the restoration of ancient places of worship, Byzantine mosaics, Roman roads or traditional village architecture. Environmental initiatives might include village-level projects (such as clearing litter from a local beauty spot) or more ambitious initiatives to clean up entire river valleys or create wildlife conservation zones.

Locally led development projects

Where appropriate, the Abraham Path Initiative will work with local people to develop accommodation for travelers. Old village houses that have been abandoned may be converted into ‘waystations’ operated as self-sustaining businesses, owned and staffed by local people. These guesthouses will be supplied with food from the village’s own fields and gardens. They may become centers for the manufacture and sale of traditional crafts and other merchandise made by village women, or for the training of local guides to the trail. The Abraham Path Initiative is also supporting the development of a network of host families who will accommodate travelers in their own homes, providing a memorable experience of family life in return for a direct source of income. This and other initiatives may be supported with micro-credit where appropriate. The Abraham Path Initiative organization will work to facilitate such micro-credit support through non-governmental organizations and other resources.

Education and recreation for young people

The Abraham Path will become an educational and recreational resource for the region’s young people, and be used by schoolteachers and youth leaders to help children to access and engage with the landscape and history of their region.

History and Progress of the Abraham Path Initiative

The Abraham Path Initiative was begun in 2004 under the leadership of Dr. William Ury. Dr. Ury is also a co-founder of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and the co-author of the worldwide bestseller on negotiation, Getting to Yes. Below is a synopsis of the year-by-year efforts that have been undertaken and the milestones accomplished to date.

2007 Progress

In 2007 we have shifted from the study phase to the implementation phase. The following is our progress:

Mapping the Path. Our Jordanian team has used Google Earth and GPS technology on the ground, to map eighty kilometers of the Abraham Path, which covers a beautiful stretch through hills and valleys that includes many historical and cultural sites of interests. Our Palestinian colleagues have mapped out a day hike around the city of Bethlehem complete with a preliminary guidebook, and are working on a further segment in the West Bank. Our Israeli colleagues are currently laying plans for a path around the city of Beersheba and through the surrounding Negev desert. We have developed a partnership with Bethlehem University, Yarmouk University, and are in active discussions with Universities along the path to do the same.

Obtaining governmental permissions. We have thus far been successful in obtaining statements of strong support, written or verbal, from ministries of tourism or government authorities along the route — in Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The Syrian Ministry of Tourism is in the process of creating the Syrian Cultural Walking Trail, which the Abraham Path Initiative hopes to link up with in the future. In addition, the Abraham Path Initiative has also been adopted as one of the five projects selected by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations for partnership in implementation.

Sponsoring launch events. In order to build understanding and support in the countries along the route, the Abraham Path Initiative is sponsoring a series of launch events. Our Turkish colleagues carried out the first event in early November 2007 in the cities of Sanliurfa and Harran. Other events in Jordan and Palestine are following in the years to come.

Organizing local chapters. Around the world, there has been keen interest in walking or touring the Abraham Path, as well as in organizing local Abraham walks. Brazil has taken the lead in organizing the first formal chapter of the Abraham Path — hiring an executive director, sponsoring delegates on the Study Tour, and planning local and global events. Omni local events have continued in the US in a number of cities, including Dallas and Austin, Texas.

Getting the word out through the media. In the last few months, articles about the Abraham Path have been written in Gulf News (UAE), Hurriyet and Referens (Turkey), Le Monde (France), Gazeta Mercantil (Brazil), the Christian Science Monitor (US), Daily Telegraph and London Sunday Times (UK), among others, as well as on Al-Arabiya TV and CNN Turkey.

Building a team and fundraising. In the first few months of 2007, we built a team working on the ground in the Middle East. We also hired an executive director, Tyler Norris, who can be reached for further information at tyler@abrahampath.org. We are in the midst of active fundraising across the world.

2006 Progress

In 2006, twenty five scholars and leaders from ten countries traveled the entire segment of the route from Harran to Al-Khalil/Hebron by bus, meeting along the way with government leaders, including deputy prime ministers and ministers of tourism, religious leaders from all three faiths, and business and non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders. These consultative meetings in Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine continued the effort to build partnerships and develop the route. The Initiative also published a white paper, created a DVD for promotional purposes, and expanded the website — including having it translated into five languages. Finally, a mapping survey of the full walking route (approximately 1,200 kilometers), which has included GPS and GIS surveying techniques, was begun by local teams and is being coordinated by a professional tour guide and trail developer from the UK.

2006 also brought to life one of the most significant and exciting aspects of the Abraham Path Initiative — “Local Abraham Walks". These events are being designed and undertaken by grassroots teams in local communities throughout the world. (see Local Initiatives Worldwide for more information). Resources are already available for the purposes of self-study and community engagement.

2005 Progress

In 2005 the Abraham Path Initiative team primarily invested energy and time in developing a vision and building valuable network connections. The very early planning stages brought together scholars, religious leaders, and others to work together on a common vision and strategy. In addition to many small-group meetings, a larger contingent of scholars and religious leaders from Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Brazil, and the United States gathered in October 2005 in Harran, Turkey, to discuss and plan the Abraham Path's development. The meeting focused on building relationships and practical arrangements for the Path. A host committee was formed in Turkey, and conceptualized for Jordan, Israel and the Palestine. These committees comprise individuals and organizations who are working together in those countries with the support of our Abraham Path Initiative International office.

The Abraham Path Initiative has begun developing a network of partners, including university centers, religious institutes, and environmental organizations in the Middle East and elsewhere. Our network continues to grow. In one inspiring example, a group of scholars, religious leaders, and others came together in Harran to pray for the fruition of the Path on the Quranic Night of Revelation Many hundreds of others around the world joined — with vigils held in at least 33 different locations from the Philippines and Pakistan to Israel and Jordan, and from Switzerland and South Africa to the United States and Brazil.