Give Early in 2023!
You can set up API and our partners for success in 2023 by giving early. This year, API’s trail development and cultural heritage preservation projects highlight the peoples and cultures in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Every tax-deductible investment will nurture economic growth, cross-cultural communication, and heritage preservation projects, on-the-ground and by building awareness.
Your early support this year will keep our pedal to the metal in three main areas:
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Rehabilitating communities in Turkey after the devastating earthquakes:
In early February, the Abraham Path Initiative launched campaigns aimed at providing assistance to friends and colleagues impacted by the earthquakes in Southeast Turkey and Syria. Thanks to donor generosity, partners in Turkey have purchased shelter-containers, food, and firewood. Your early gift will help with long-term reconstruction of homes and guesthouses along the path that were damaged by the earthquake, and toward the physical trail.
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Cultural heritage preservation projects in the Ninevah Governorate of Iraq:
In 2022, API launched cultural heritage preservation projects in the Nineveh Governorate of northern Iraq with support from the ALIPH Foundation. Southeast of Mosul, in Qaraqosh, partners at the Assyrian Aid Society are producing short films documenting the practice of traditional Syriac Catholic embroidery. To the west, in the Yazidi community of Shingal (Sinjar), Dr. Makrina Finlay is researching xêr, the practice of personal and communal blessing helping this wounded community recover from ISIS’s devastating 2014 assault. Your support will assist API in sharing our research and the films globally.
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Further development of the Zagros Mountain Trail in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq:
Our partners in the Kurdistan region of Iraq continue developing the Zagros Mountain Trail (ZMT), the first long-distance hiking trail in Iraqi Kurdistan. Your early support this year will keep our pedal to the metal:- Deepening relationships with guides and homestay host families
- Re-launching day-long walks along the ZMT this Spring 2023 (for information on walking, email: info@zagrosmountaintrail.org)
- Completing a second through-hike, reinforcing the route and maintaining community enthusiasm
Join us in creating a future in which Southwest Asia is again recognized as a cradle of culture and civilization and becomes known worldwide for hospitality and walking trails.
Please give early!
Left: Walking from Shush to Khirdas, Iraqi Kurdistan in February 2023 (photo by Bilal Shaker and Sherko Sinjari) | Top Right: Spending time with a homestay family in Sanliurfa, Turkey (photo by David Landis) | Bottom Right: Sharing a meal in an IDP camp in Shingal, Iraq (photo by Sr. Makrina Finlay)