Abraham Path

Abraham Path
Route information
Length 1,078 km (670 mi)
Existed 2007 – present
Major junctions
From Urfa
To Negev

The Abraham Path is a cultural route connecting the storied places associated with Abraham’s ancient journey.[1] Story, walking and hospitality are the cultural route’s central themes. The path focusses on the diverse communities living in the region that share a common heritage in Abraham/Ibrahim as an ancestor and that may identify his story as an important component of their cultural DNA. The path also demonstrates the power of walking: giving people perspective and remembering their origins; it’s a way to connect with others. The path is also a symbol of hospitality and kindness toward perfect strangers.

Urfa pond

The legend of Abraham

Abraham/Ibrahim is believed to have lived in the Bronze Age.[2] He traveled with family and flocks throughout the Fertile Crescent, the Arabian peninsula, and the Nile Valley. His story has inspired myriad communities including Kurds, Muslim, Jews, Christians, Alevi, Bedouin, Fellahin, Samaritans, and countless across the world. The Abraham Path Initiative aims to build on this narrative of shared connection with its rich tradition of walking and hospitality to strangers.

Nabi Musa

History

The path was started in the first decade of the 21st century by the Abraham Path Initiative, a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, with a global network of partners. William Ury, negotiator and author of Getting to YES helped found the project at Harvard University's Program on Negotiation. Ury's TED Talk speaks about the beginnings of the path and the vision behind the Initiative. Ury says that every culture has an origin-story, and that the origin-story of the Middle East is about how a man and his family walked the Middle East about four thousand years ago.[3] The Abraham Path Initiative is endorsed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations [4] and other international partners . The initiative is a non-profit, non-religious and non-political organization, whose mission is to support local partners in developing the Abraham Path as:

  • a catalyst for socioeconomic development and sustainable tourism.
  • a place of meeting and connection between people from the Middle East and people around the world.
  • a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region.[5]
Mar Saba (Beduin youth)

Overview of the current path

The main historical Abrahamic sites on the current Path are Urfa (the birthplace of Abraham according to Muslim tradition), Harran (according to the Hebrew Bible, this is a town Abraham lived in, and from which he received the call to start the main part of his journey), Jerusalem (the scene for the binding of Isaac according to the Hebrew Bible), and Hebron (the location of the tomb of Abraham and his wife Sarah, according to Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions).

Regions of the current path:[6]

  • Urfa
  • Harran
  • Nablus
  • Jericho
  • Jerusalem
  • Bethlehem
  • Hebron
  • Negev

Details of the regions of the current path

  • Urfa--- Day 1 of walking: Yuvacalı to Golli; Day 2: Golli to Beyazit; Day 3: Beyazit to Göbekli Tepe; Day 4: Göbekli Tepe to Kisas; Day 5: Kisas to Urfa City.
  • Harran--- tentative path: Day 1 of walking: Kisas to Mamuca; Day 2: Mamuca to Karaali Thermal Resort; Day 3: Karaali to Sogmatar; Day 4: Sogmatar to Suayib; Day 5: Suayib to Bazda Caves; Day 6: Bazda Caves to Harran.
  • Nablus--- Day 1 of walking: Nablus City to Awarta; Day 2: Awarta to Duma; Day 3: Duma to Kafr Malik; Day 4: Kafr Malik to Auja.
  • Jericho--- Day 1 of walking: Auja to Jericho; Day 2: Jericho to Nabi Musa; Day 3: Nabi Musa to Mar Saba.
  • Jerusalem--- accessed via Jericho or Bethlehem
  • Bethlehem--- Day 1 of walking: Mar Saba to Bethlehem; Day 2: Bethlehem to Tuqu' (Tequa).
  • Hebron--- Day 1 of walking: Tuqu' (Tequa) to Reshayda; Day 2: Reshayda to Bani Na'im; Day 3: Bani Na'im to Hebron City.
  • Negev--- Day 1 of walking: Beersheba City to Lakiya; Day 2: Lakiya to Meitar; Day 3: Meitar to Har Amasa; Day 4: Har Amasa to Tel Arad National Park; Day 5: Tel Arad National Park to Arad; Day 6: Arad to Kfar haNokdim; Day 7: Kfar haNokdim to Masada.
Masada

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Abraham Path | a cultural route connecting the storied places associated with Abraham's ancient journey". abrahampath.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  2. ↑ Bright, John (1972). History of Israel. p. 91.
  3. ↑ William Ury. "William Ury: The walk from "no" to "yes" - TED Talk - TED.com".
  4. ↑ "Education". United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).
  5. ↑ "Hiking in Abraham's Footsteps, From Turkey to the Holy Land". Haaretz.com.
  6. ↑ http://www.abrahampath.org/discover/

Further reading

  • Feiler, Bruce. (2005). Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, William Morrow Paperbacks.
  • Bonder, Nilton. (2010). Taking Off Your Shoes: The Abraham Path, A Path to the Other, Trafford Publishing.
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