Dubai: He has finally reached his destination, 47 days after he began the most ambitious journey of his life on foot, walking from Ruwais in Abu Dhabi to Makkah.
Emirati walker Jalal Bin Thaneya, who undertook the walk to raise funds for the Dubai Centre for Special Needs, tweeted this minutes after arriving at the Al Masjid Al Haram in Makkah late on Monday night: "Al Hamdulillah I have reached the sacred Masjid Al Haram on foot from the UAE... I have ended the mission, I will perform Umrah now. Subhanallah, no road is too far ."
Throughout the day on Monday, Bin Thaneya kept tweeting updates on the final phase of his gruelling journey. "The kindness on the difficult road, the horror of fatigue, the recollection of struggle," he tweeted earlier in the day, walking under the hot midday sun.
Bin Thaneya earlier told Gulf News that he buoyed his occasionally flagging spirits by assuring himself that he is doing everything he can to keep going. "Half of the success is in trying," he said. "Given that I set out to Makkah with the intention of truly giving in to the divine experience when I am there, it will not serve my purpose if I race against myself. Let it be that it will take me some more time."
