Two young South Africans have pedaled their way to Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s Haj. Nathim Cairncross, 28, and Imtiyaz Ahmad Haron, 25, both from Cape Town, said on arrival at the Saudi border before reaching Tabuk that they felt happy they were fulfilling their dream of performing Haj.
The idea began as a hypothetical situation – what would happen if a few friends attempted to bicycle from their home in South Africa to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia in time for the annual Hajj pilgrimage?
Twelve countries, nine months and untold kilometres of freshly traveled earth behind them, thehypothetical has become a reality for Cape Town residents Nathim Cairncross, 28, and Imtiyaz Ahmad Haron, 25.
The two pedalled their way across the Saudi border in late October, arriving nearly three weeks before the official start of the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca
They cycled 80-100km per day, starting after the pre-dawn Muslim prayer, and stopping at night at hotels, campsites, or mosques, where they would tell their story to welcoming listeners who would then invite them to stay the night and eat a meal.
They made friends along the way – locals, other cyclists and tourists curious about their journey. Haron and Cairncross welcomed the curiosity, seeing it as an opportunity to explain Islam, Hajj, and why they intended to perform the pilgrimage.
“On the ground you can speak to the people,” Cairncross said.
“You get an opportunity that traveling by plane or car you don’t get. And you learn much more, you discover much more about yourself. It was an existential experience.”
However, speaking to people posed a challenge in some countries, where the number of English-speakers was few, and language represented a barrier. Refusing to let that hinder them, Haron and Cairncross began to pick up the basics of the languages they encountered, consulting with locals and researching when they could find an internet connection.
In addition to the language barriers, the two faced minor technical problems – tire punctures, broken chains, and cushion malfunctions. But they said safety was never an issue, and despite their limited budget they always managed to find food and shelter.
Africa to Asia
From Malawi, the friends cycled through Tanzania, visiting the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, before heading to Kenya and the border of Ethiopia.
But it was at that border that Haron and Cairncross faced their first major obstacle of the trip. The two had planned to travel through Ethiopia and into Sudan, but border authorities denied their exit from Kenya into the east African country, leaving the friends temporarily stranded, and without a plan.
After myriad calls to South African embassy officials and a hasty refiguring of their original plan, Haron and Cairncross booked plane tickets and flew to Turkey, determined to complete their mission despite the slight hiccup.
They spent the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan traveling through Turkey, from Istanbul and Ankara to Gaziantep, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.
From Turkey, they cycled to Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, where they were pleasantly surprised by the depth of Syrian hospitality as children ran up to their bicycles and invited them home to lunch.
Mercy from the skies
Then it was on to Jordan – with a 24-hour trip to the city of Jerusalem to visit Masjid al-Aqsa – before heading back over the Allenby Bridge connecting Israel and the Palestinian territories to the Jordanian border. After biking the rugged hills of Petra and riding past the Dead Sea, the two at last cycled through the Arabian desert and over the Jordanian border into Saudi Arabia in late October.
“At the Tabuk border, we ran into three generals at the border post, and they were very impressed with our trip,” Cairncross said.
“So they made things easy for us, processed our visas, and while that was happening, they took us to their office, allowed us to sleep over and eat breakfast.”
With a stop in Medina, Haron and Cairncross finally made it to Mecca, under heavy grey skies reminiscent of the day that they set out on their trip. The two friends have not yet decided how they will get back to Cape Town – and they are soliciting donations to help defer some of those costs, including a bid to sell their bicycles when the trip is over.
http://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com ... y-bicycle/
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Inspiring story, anyone wanna try, this year?
