“One of the best new trails in the world in 2017.”
Wanderlust Magazine.
The Path. From your
head to your heart.
Let’s Walk!
Abraham Path Initiative (API), a US-based nonprofit organization, helps develop trails and promotes intercultural connections through walking in Southwest Asia.
The Palm Sunday Parade (2023) in Bakhdeda | Photo by Anisa Mehdi
Enjoying a tea break on Abraham's Path in Turkey | Photo by Ömer Tanık
Walking the Zagros Mountain Trail from Shush to Khirdas | Photo by Bilal Shaker and Sherko Sinjari
Reading the 2022 Annual Report on the Zagros Mountain Trail | Photo by Anisa Mehdi
Celebrating the Ezidi New Year at Lalish | Photo by Anisa Mehdi
We envision a future in which Southwest Asia (the Middle East) is everyone’s favorite place to walk, connect, and converse.
We have generated over 2000 kilometers of trail since 2007, working with partners in Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Sinai, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Trails and walkers stimulate regional economic development and kindle new perspectives.
Since the pandemic, Abraham Path Initiative has been effective online, introducing global audiences to people, landscapes, and cities of Southwest Asia through our webinar series Meet Us on the Abraham Path, LiveOnLine tours, and Postcards from the Path.
We envision the simple act of walking as a way for people from all over the world to connect with one another, explore together, and exchange ideas and knowledge. The Abraham Path Initiative (API) catalyzes global appreciation for the widespread traditions of hospitality that permeate Southwest Asia (aka “the Middle East”). People practice hospitality in honor of the myriad acts of kindness attributed to the legendary prophet Abraham/Ibrahim. API helps you access that hospitality through walking.
“The message that Sinai is not a war-torn province but a destination with stunning natural beauty and rich culture can be difficult to broadcast over the clamor of conflict, but it’s slowly making a difference.”
AramcoWorld, May-June 2018.
The Abraham Path was selected as one of the best 10 new walking trails in the world by National Geographic in April, 2019.
The Path.
From stranger to friend.
Let’s walk!
