RASOUN, Ajloun - University students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines are the first to walk along the Abraham Path Initiative, an initiative designed to take travellers down the footsteps of Abraham, or Ibrahim, a central figure of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
"He is the common link bonding three-and-a-half-billion people," Abraham Path Development Director Daniel Adamson told The Jordan Times on Wednesday, stressing that the path, walked by students from Leeds Metropolitan University and Yarmouk University, is neither a political nor an interfaith initiative.
"The path provides ecotourism, cultural tourism, archaeological tourism and religious tourism, allowing people from all walks of life and interests to walk down together and experience something unforgettable. And that truly embodies what Abraham stands for," he added.
The eventual planned path, which was established by the Harvard Global Negotiations Project, will start from Harran, Turkey, in the ruins of the old Mesopotamian city where Judaism, Christianity and Islam meet. It was the place where Abraham is believed to have heard the call of God to go forth.
Stretching through cultural and historical sites in southern Turkey, Syria and Jordan, the path will one day lead travellers to Hebron in the West Bank, where it is believed Abraham is buried.
A group of 16 students from the two universities gathered earlier this week to spend two weeks exploring each other's cultures and the first part of the trail, which is being formed in Jordan between the Ajloun nature reserve, through the villages of Rasoun, Baoun and to Tal Mar Elias.
The trail takes advantage of the area's greenery and existing infrastructure to bring visitors together and provide direct benefit to local communities who have been left out from the Kingdom's industrialisation and the growing tourism sector, according to organisers.
"There are no factories here, no five-star hotels, no companies. But what they do have here is beautiful natural landscapes, archaeological sites, cuisine and hospitality that many tourists crave," Khaled Maqableh, head of the tourism department at Yarmouk University, told The Jordan Times, adding that the Ajloun area is just one of several "hidden gems" in the Kingdom.
Sheikh Zaid Sharaa, a Rasoun mosque imam and father of nine, said that he looks forward to visitors touring the area.
"As long as tourists are respectful, I can say, on behalf of the entire village, that the doors to our homes will be wide open," the religious leader told The Jordan Times.
Mahmoud Hawareh, who has taught English in Baoun for over 25 years, agreed that the area will not only welcome visitors coming down the envisioned path, but will bring them back for more.
"We have the greenest areas in the entire region, culture and food. We can really offer a lot more than sites such as Petra and Aqaba, which can be experienced in half a day," he noted.
The student group were the first tourists ever to see the area's hundreds of ancient burial grounds dating back the Bronze Age, extensive cave networks, the Kingdom's last working water mill and Byzantine era wine presses.
The winding paths leading down from the Bronze Age necropolis leads travellers to the village's millennial olive groves, which not only offer a sense of the region's culinary habits but also have served as a source of revenue for generations.
Future visitors will also be able to visit the Soap House, an RSCN initiative which employs several local women in producing natural soaps from olive oil, mint and other herbs, providing them with income and health insurance.
But the crowning jewel of the 12km stretch is Tel Mar Elias, where many believe to be the birthplace of the Prophet Elijah, and which provides a panoramic view of the Kingdom and Palestine.
According to project coordinator Mahmoud Twaisi, the aim of the two-week excursion is to be the first step to slowly expand the 12km stretch into the long-envisioned Abraham Path, by creating incentives and interest from nearby towns and villages who would join the initiative.
But according to participants, who have been staying with host families and eating traditional Jordanian dishes, the trail has already broadened horizons and has grown faster than organisers could have imagined.
Katherine Wilson, a sophomore film student at Leeds Metropolitan, who was on her first visit to the region, said she now wishes to return to the region to film documentaries.
"I want to show how it really is here and how people really live. There are a lot of misconceptions generated by media and that needs to change," she said, adding that she is excited to "spread the work" about the Kingdom's hospitality and landscapes.
Even participants from the Kingdom found that the path took them to undiscovered areas.
"I'm learning more about my own country; there are so many beautiful places here," tourism master's student Sahira Malkawi said, adding that the trip represented her first time ever in Ajloun Governorate.
Feras Titi, another Yarmouk tourism student, stressed he was learning two new cultures at once.
"While I'm exploring my own country I'm learning of Western cultures. We have people from different countries, faiths and personalities, " he said.
"On the path of Abraham' where else could it happen?" he added.
The two weeks of cultural exchange will culminate into an Al Ayoun Festival of Culture and Tourism at the Tel Mar Elias later this month, where the students' experiences and local cultural heritage will be on display, and place international attention on the Ajloun area.
Can look up more info at http://www.abrahampath.org/
By Taylor Luck
© Jordan Times 2008
