Friendship Caravan Route

Revised Itinerary

Departure of The Friendship Caravan with a Gala Send-Off in 2005 from San Francisco or another coastal city in California. From there it will visit towns and cities across California, the Southwest, Texas, the Deep South, the Midwest Heartland, New York State, New England, and down the East Coast, finishing one year later with an international celebration in Washington, DC.

Major cities on the route will include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Denver, Tucson, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, St. Louis, Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Boston, New Haven, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. Many small towns and medium-sized cities will also host the Caravan. Memorial services will be held at Ground Zero, the Pennsylvania crash site, and outside the Pentagon. (Revised May 2003, map does not reflect exact revised itinerary. See current list of cities, which is subject to change.)

Caravan Details

The central caravan will be made up of a dozen dromedary camels from the heartland of America, 4-6 Arabian horses who join us from regions as we pass through them, and 8-10 Permanent Caravaneers. Half of these will be from the West, half from the Arab world outside America. At least one Caravaneer will be Jewish-American, at least one will be Arab-American, and half will be women. All of them will speak English well.

Numerous Guest Caravaneers will join the Caravan for periods of one-to-three days: schoolchildren, college professors, celebrities, newspersons, religious leaders, etc. Arabian horses will greet the caravan and escort it into town centers. Moreover, Caravaneers will remain in contact with the outside world via the Internet and “Camel Cams”. In this way, they will communicate directly with schools, universities, and media, both here and abroad, as well as with other groups.

Festivities will begin one month before the Caravan departure with a Friendship Festival in an Arab country yet to be chosen, with the send-off of the Permanent Caravaneers as they begin their journey by sea or air to the departure point in San Francisco, CA, where World Day 2004 is declared simultaneously with the launch of the Caravan.

The activities of the Friendship Caravan will be broadcast on worldwide TV and radio, wrapped up with a filmed documentary for syndication purposes. Schools will participate by holding cultural events of their own, and students will be in communication with the caravaneers through email and teleconferencing. Each night, the caravan members will meet under the Friendship Tent to discuss questions of interest, and artists from both cultures will also take part. The Caravan will be welcomed by local municipalities along the way, and there will be a final reception outside Washington, DC that will include dignitaries from around the world.

Proposed daily template of events

List of Cities to be visited (not final but working list)

Media Strategy

Friendship Caravan route map in pdf 522kb

Last updated: February 9, 2004