Retrace the footsteps of the first Arab immigrants to North America in the former “Little Syria” with Asad Dandia of New York Narratives.

Join ArteEast on May 9 at 11 AM for a walking tour led by Asad Dandia of “Little Syria,” the first neighborhood of Arab immigrants to North America.

Known as the “Syrian Quarter” in the late-19th century, Washington Street in Manhattan’s Financial District became home to the first Arabic-speaking community in the United States and the Mother Colony of the Arab American diaspora.

This neighborhood witnessed the first Arab immigrants to the United States who settled in the late-1800s, contributing a cultural hub of businesses, houses of worship, and vibrant communal life. It was here that Kawkab America, the first Arabic language newspaper in the US, was printed in 1892. Little Syria was also where Kahlil Gibran and Ameen Rihani participated in the Pen League, a collective of prominent Arab writers and intellectuals.

On this walking tour, New York Narratives founder Asad Dandia will retrace the footsteps of these communities and situate them within the wider history of New York City.

Accessibility: This tour involves going up and down some steps on a pedestrian footbridge.

Rain Date: Sunday, May 10th; 11 – 1 pm

ArteEast: Since its founding in 2003 as a NY-based arts collective specializing in Middle Eastern film programming, ArteEast has become a leading organization amplifying the arts related to the South West Asia North Africa (SWANA) region and its diaspora engaging with New York, U.S. and international audiences and arts communities.

New York Narratives is a walking tour company and storytelling project founded by Asad Dandia to advance new perspectives on the city and its people.