If only more people would walk and meet each other walking!

When walkingyou are invariably invited to share a cup of tea and often freshly baked bread: hospitality and smiles, and common humanity. Erika and Roger Salmon London

CONTENT
Report from our Chair Donations Story Young leaders open new path stages in Turkey Story Walking the path every week Story Path operator nominated for reponsible tourism award Story Women from the path Story Inspired to walk across Turkey Story Photo competition The path around the world Next steps on the path In the media About us Board of Directors Join the Abraham Path Initiative 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 18 20 23 24 25

REPORT FROM OUR CHAIR

We are proud to report that, despite the turmoil in the Middle East 2012. In fact, the number of walkers overall on the path has increased as have the number of local guides and the number of homestays, creating much-needed income for villagers. New sections of the path have opened in Turkey and in Jordan. Two books have been published covering parts of Abraham Path in the highlands of northern Jordan and in the West Bank. Globally, a new Friends of the Path chapter has opened in Spain and more than 4,000 people participated in our Brazil Chapters annual Caminho de Abrao run with over sixty media pieces airing about this event alone. 5.4 million viewers tuned in to view Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour on ABC News on December 21st. The special featured a 9 minute segment on Abraham Path as an unprecedented initiative to break down barriers and foster communication in one of the most divided regions of the world. Moving into 2013, we have made some exciting additions to our leadership team: Stefan Szepesi, a native of the Netherlands with years of experience as a diplomat, economist, guidebook author, and walking in the Middle East has joined us as Executive Director. We now also have a Regional Director based in Jerusalem, David Landis, who has joined us after extensive experience as an outdoor adventure specialist developing hiking routes in the Middle East and worldwide. We have also welcomed Shahm Al Wir, based in Amman, to our Board of Directors. He brings wisdom and energy to the Abraham Path, making us even better ambassadors of the path and better stewards of your funds and dreams.

Our focus for the year ahead is to bring the world to the path and bring the path to the world. The path is real and walkable across 400 kilometers, 40 communities, and 4 countries. Join us in 2013 in continuing to build the Abraham Path, a path towards a more hopeful future.

Fear not, Walk on!

William Ury Chair of the Board

DONATIONS

2012

thanks
total income $548,648
total expenses $580,531
35% institutions & foundations 29% staff & board 36% individuals 6

When I walk as a guide on the path through the villages around my home, I forget that I am walking with visitors from another country. And it is not just the visitors that learn from me, I learn from them. The path has changed the way I look at everything. Fatih Salva, Urfa

STORY Young leaders open new path stages in Turkey

In December 2012, a group of 30 path leaders from across the Middle East and around the world, sponsored by the Fetzer Institute, walked together to open new stages of the path in and around Urfa. A 5-day and 60 km route designed by Alison and Omer Tanik and Fatih Salva now connects the Kurdish village of Yuvacali with the city of Urfa (Sanliurfa), an ancient site of pilgrimage. The group walked, exchanged stories, and experienced local hospitality in Kurdish, Turkish, Alevi and Arab communities on the path. The next steps shall be to produce maps of all current stages of the path in the Urfa region, and to add a section from the beautiful area of Sogmatar to ancient Harran, where Abraham started his long journey on foot.

4,000
The number of walkers on the sections in 2008

thanks
Alexandre Chade Abdelrazzaq Arabiyat Andrew Ury Anisa Mehdi and Peter Zimmermann Audree Parr Barbara and Bertramm Cohn Barbara and Peter Thornton Barbara Krakow Bart Campolo Charles Boteler Charlie Bresnahan Christie Platt Cornelius and Gertrude Prior Dan Scheuer Daniel and Joanna S. Rose David Cohen David Friedman and Tirzah Firestone David Simon Dantzic Dick and Patty Simon Donna Childs EA Peters Eileen Ratkiewicz Elizabeth Hester Elizabeth Mirante 9

STORY Walking the path every week

Since the spring of 2012, people have been participating in weekly walks along the path from Ajloun to the Jordan Valley (Jordan) and from Nablus to Hebron (Palestine). The walks attract both local walkers and resident expats looking to take a break from city life and explore the heritage and nature on the path. Apart from raising the number of footsteps on the path, the walks were key in obtaining feedback on new route descriptions and maps that were produced throughout the year. Each walk ends at the home of a local family where meals are shared before groups return to Amman, Jerusalem or Ramallah. By December 2012, over 500 people had participated in the weekly walks, and they continue to be organized by volunteers and local tour operators in 2013.

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430

Km of path uncovered to date

360

Km of path mapped in detail to date

thanks
Elizabeth Ury Ellen Brock Fetzer Institute Frances and Timothy Hester Franchesca Biondo Gervitz Family Trust Harvard Arab Alumni Association Ilana Weiss J.P. Guerin James Finerty James K. Sebenius Jamil Mahuad Jeanne Rolston Forte Jerry White Jo Smith-Nilsson John C. Whitehead John Jones Joshua Weiss Kelsey Whiting-Jones Kevin Risen Lionel Sauvage Lizanne Ury Lori Pye M S Willingham Malik Dahlan and Sarah Yamani Mark Tremblay Marnie Pillsbury Mary Elizabeth Pratt 11

STORY Path operator nominated for responsible tourism award

Our operating partner on the path between Nablus and Hebron, the Siraj Center, was highly commended for Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award in the category Best Engagement between People and Culture. Since the opening of the path in the West Bank, the Siraj Center has been running over 75 walking tours on the path. 2012 saw a record number of groups, with Sirajs numbers continuing to grow and now including groups of local residents that walk the path for a day and end with a home-made meal in one of the path communities. The award nomination is a testament to the impact of the work of Siraj in developing the responsible tourism sector and creating memorable experiences for travelers on the path.

12

Countries where the path has been uncovered to date

36

Number of communities on the path

thanks
Mary White Melinda Gildea Michael Collins and Beverly Freeman Monika and John Relman Morris F Friedell Neil D. Klotz Oliver Pospisil Paul Gray Peggy Dulany and the Rockefeller Philanthropic Advisors Peter and Barbara Thornton Peter Armitage Regina Mamou Rick and Rebecca White Robert Feitler Robert G. White Roberta Sotomaior Ronald Kertzner Ross Sherbrooke Stefan Szepesi Stephen Goldberg Susan Collin Marks Thomas Hast Valissa Tsoucaris Vin Ryan and the Schooner Foundation West Cummington Congregational Church William and Lizanne Ury 13

STORY Women from the path: Hebron and Beersheba

Four women working with community-based organizations from villages along the path near Hebron in the Palestinian West Bank (Tequa, Artas, Bani Naim, and Al Shouokh) hosted ten women from the Sidreh Society near Beersheba in Israel as part of a Womens Exchange Program on the path organized by our partners from the Masar Ibrahim al-Khalil. The Sidreh Society aims to empower, represent, and improve the socio-economic condition of Bedouin women living in Israels Negev. The women are currently developing ways to further collaborate with the Masar Ibrahim al-Khalil and plan for future exchanges along the path.

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STORY Inspired to walk across Turkey

In February, 2011, I watched a TED video where William Ury, a professor at Harvard, mentioned Abrahams Path and walking as a way to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East. I practically fell out of my chair and said, Thats what I want to do. Here I am over a year later. I figured Id better start with Turkey. Matt Krause is now walking solo 1,305 miles (2,100 kilometers) across Turkey, including a jaunt down Abraham Path, from the Aegean coast to Iran, and describing what he runs into along the way.

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STORY
Photo competition
Our local partners at the Masar Ibrahim al-Khalil organized a Photo Contest for students from Bethlehem University and Najah University in Nablus. The students captured images of the unique experience of the path: the spectacular landscape, walking side-by-side with someone new, and the gift of hospitality. Most of the students had never walked in the West Bank before, and many commented on how special it was to be able to discover the rich cultural and natural heritage of their country through walking.

The poet Rumi said, Begin a foolish project. Noah did! The path is one such extraordinary ideacreative, radical, and doable. Ive seen the difference it makes when people walk together in common purpose and shared history. Remarkable! David Baum, New Hampshire

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THE PATH AROUND THE WORLD

Abraham Paths global network continues to expand and grow. Chapters in Brazil, Spain and the UK stood out in 2012, shining the light on the path.

United Kingdom
Five travelers from the UK Friends of Abrahams Path (www.abrahams path.org.uk) headed to South Eastern Anatolia (Turkey) to walk a newly developed segment of the path in the spring of 2012. British walker Brendan Sibley remarked, The unease I felt at being a burden or embarrassment to the families that put us up was cured rapidly by the great humour of the people I met. We laughed nearly the whole time I was in the country and the up-beat simplicity of our interactions was the most refreshing thing about the trip.

 Brazil
On the 23rd of September 2012, the Brazilian Chapter of the Abraham Path Initiative hosted their 4th annual Caminho da Paz (the Path of Peace), a 7 km run/walk through the streets of So Paulo, highlighting the cultures and faiths in Brazil today, an example to the world at large. More than 4,000 people- from respected elders to infants in strollers- participated and over sixty media pieces aired about this event alone.

Spain
A new Chapter of Abraham Path in Spain was formed in 2012. The Amigos de El Camino de Abraham-Espaa (www.elcaminodeabraham.es) are currently in the beginning stages of developing a student exchange project that will bring together walkers from both sides of the Mediterranean.

NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH The first all-path guidebook

Work has begun to collect stories, maps, and photography of the people and places along the way in the first Abraham Path guidebook. The all-path guidebook will first be released in a virtual portal online, supported by video footage, where people will be invited to go walk the path or explore the path as armchair travelers.

Guide training
Together with our local partners, we plan to organize the first Widerness First Responders course for path guides in 2013 and 2014.

Path extension
We are working with our partners to extend the path Nablus-Hebron path section towards Jenin in the northern West Bank and the Negev section from Arad to Beersheba. We hope to connect sections of the path to create over 400 km of continuous walking trail by 2014.

It is one of those trips you keep talking about with fervor forever, even I imagine to my grandchildren! It is amusing to see how people question why I went on an Abrahamic trip and then their raised eyebrows immediately change to envy upon me describing the experience, the place, the discussions and the people. My wisdom out of the trip is that the antidote for stereotype is experience. Quite amusing to watch it works! Mona Abdeljawad, Amman

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IN THE MEDIA
Media Highlights Featuring the Path in 2012

ABOUT US
The mission of the Abraham Path Initiative is for the path to serve as: a catalyst for socio-economic 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 tion.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Amman Shahm al Wir Boston James Sebenius Boston Jamil Mahuad Boulder William Ury (Chair) Chicago Paul Gray Jerusalem Raed Saadeh (Vice-Chair) New York Anisa Mehdi (Vice-Chair) San Francisco Deena Shakir So Paulo Salim Schahin So Paulo Alexandre Chade

JOIN THE ABRAHAM PATH INITIATIVE US donations

The Abraham Path Initiative is registered in the United States as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and all your donations are tax-deductible. To donate online visit www.abrahampath.org Donations by bank check can be made to the Abraham Path Initiative and mailed to: Abraham Path Initiative 1563 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Donations by bank transfer can be made by inquiring at info@abrahampath.org

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JOIN THE ABRAHAM PATH INITIATIVE UK donations

The UK Friends of Abrahams Path is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and your donations are tax-deductible in the UK. UK Friends of Abrahams Path Ltd Registered charity No: 1142073 / Company No: 7469327 7, Little Warkworth Mill Plat Old Isleworth TW7 DY

Bank Account title Sort code

The CO-OPERATIVE Bank UK FRIENDS OF ABRAHAMS PATH 089299

Abraham Path Initiative 1563 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 www.abrahampath.org info@abrahampath.org