Sixth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

The Abraham Path Initiative (API) is a route of cultural and religious tourism through the heart of the Middle East centered on the long distance walking trail that follows the purported journeys of the Prophet Abraham. Sponsored by Harvard University, the author was made a Senior Advisor to the project in an attempt to establish the API in Syria in 2007, which would be the longest segment of the Path. We were ultimately unsuccessful by 2010; however, the effort, which included meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and involving former US President Jimmy Carter, provides unique insights into how the Syrian system under Assad worked–or didn’t work. It also places in relief the different layers of support and opposition from indigenous elements that revealed the complexities of bringing a tourism project from the outside into an authoritarian political system such as that which exists in Syria. We experienced first hand the myriad of ways that various pockets of power navigate shifting political space to influence the leadership in Damascus, ultimately against our project and led by Syrian intelligence, which was from the beginning extremely suspicious of and opposed to our attempts. There are many lessons we learned about our effort that could be helpful to other such projects in similar settings. In the end, this may assist us in our attempt to try once again to bring the API to Syria in the future, especially as a possible healing mechanism following a brutal civil war.