The purpose of the Abraham Path is to open up a route in the Middle East retracing the footsteps of Abraham. As the father of monotheism and the physical or spiritual forefather of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Abraham is the unifying point for over three billion people who consider themselves part of the family of Abraham. The Abraham Path will serve to underscore and disseminate Abraham’s universal messages of oneness, faith, justice, peace, and hospitality toward all.

Against a backdrop of conflict in the Middle East that has become a global symbol of intractable strife and despair, the Path and its televised images of imams, priests, and rabbis walking alongside one another will help inspire the imagination of millions around the planet with new possibilities for mutual respect. Parallel events will be organized in communities around the world in the form of local “Abraham Walks”, from churches to mosques to synagogues, shared religious services and festivals, and educational events on religious coexistence.

Beyond the personal significance of traveling the Abraham Path for the travelers and those whose lives they touch, the Abraham Path could have many concrete benefits for the peoples of the Middle East, indeed of the entire world:

• Economic: creating thousands of jobs by building infrastructures such as trails, hotels, restaurants, and guide services.

• People-to-people: fostering understanding between the Islamic world and the West through thousands of respectful visits

• Political: building confidence between states, for example, by opening up a path across the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel.

• Religious/cultural: restoring dozens of sacred sites along the route.

• Educational: promoting religious and cultural understanding through the media, the arts, and personal meetings

• Environmental: environmental preservation along the route, such as cleaning up the Euphrates corridor.

• Youth: providing a focal point for the idealism, energy, and adventurous spirit of young people from around the world.

Since 2007 we’ve cultivated 2000 kilometers of walking trail in Jordan, Palestine, Sinai, and Turkey. More than 80,000 people have walked on them. Now we’re working with colleagues to build trails in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. From Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean, to Memphis and Mecca, Abraham’s legendary hospitality is practiced every day. Let’s walk there together, in person and online. 

Project Director Bio:

William Ury is an author, walker, and mediator. He is the founder of the Abraham Path Initiative and co-founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project. William is the co-author of the global bestseller Getting to Yes, and the author of The Power of a Positive No. Over the last 35 years, he has mediated between quarreling corporate divisions, battling unions and management, and warring ethnic groups around the world.