Pilgrims who set off from Skopje on bicycles arrive in Mecca

North Macedonian Albanian Kamuran Hirda and Bosniak Adem Aljic, who want to fulfil their pilgrimage duties, set off by bicycle from Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.

Kamuran Hirda from Skopje shared the following statements on his social media account about the journey and the arrival in Mecca:

"Thanks to Allah, He enabled me to reach my goal with about 4,000 km of driving and today, 11 May 2024 at 20.30, I am in the blessed Mecca.

Thank you very much to my family, my beautiful friends and everyone who supported me and encouraged me. I shared with you both the good things and the difficulties that overlapped with you and overcame them more easily with your support.

As you know, travelling in Türkiye and Jordan was a bit easier. But after entering Saudi Arabia, everything was different and more difficult. It was a very different phenomenon to experience the challenges that I had thought and prepared for. Sleep, sleep deprivation, food, water, climate and others were some of these challenges.

Settlements were rare, it was desert and very hot. We could see desert on the sides, warm asphalt, the sun in front of us, a long, endless road full of plains.

We were happy to see a village or a petrol station to drink water or put our heads in the shade, but to get to them we had to travel from 50 km to 100 km without a trace, or even up to 150 km. When there was a bridge on the way, we paused for a breeze, but even that was rare, only one or two during the day.

There were no hotels, we slept in mosques or masjids. It was a joy for us that there was a water pump in those places where we slept. Everywhere we stopped people were hardworking foreigners working in Arabia and they helped us a lot, may Allah be pleased with them.

The last breakdown was perhaps the worst. While travelling in the desert, both the inner and outer parts of my wheel burst. It was impossible for me to travel in this way with a wheel with a hole the size of a finger. As God's wisdom would have it, there was a tyre shop 500 metres away. I went and glued the outer tyre because it was not possible otherwise, and somehow I managed to fix the inner tyre. I was very worried that the driving would be unstable, but I continued my journey with that tyre without any problems.

When we arrived at the border of Mecca, the police stopped us and when we told them where we were going, they told us that you cannot enter Mecca by bicycle. Since I was previously informed about this issue, we acted in accordance with the rules. We put on our ihrams and entered Mecca.

I am very happy that it ended successfully and that I was able to experience the joy of the blessed Kaaba up close. In this way, I have successfully ended such a journey that I have been dreaming of for years. I am writing these words with great emotion. I am so happy and emotional that if I were writing them on paper, tears of joy would be seen.

Today 12 May I cycled to the Kaaba, I asked the police for permission to take photos, although it was impossible, they respected me and gave me permission.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this journey. I pray for your health and a good life."

TB