Three Muslims from Andalusia set off on horseback for Hajj
Abdullah Hernandez, Abdelkader Harkassi, and Tariq Rodriguez, who had been traveling on horseback for about 3.5 months from Spain to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, arrived in Istanbul.
The journey of three friends continues, aiming to revive the 500-year-old tradition of Andalusian Muslims making pilgrimages on horseback and perform the Hajj rituals that began in southern Spain about 3.5 months ago.
The pilgrims aim to reach Saudi Arabia via Syria, passing through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, along the 8,000-kilometer route.
Hosted by Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, the prospective pilgrims met with students and their families at the Halkali campus as part of an event organized by the university.
Speaking at the meeting, Hernandez said that at the age of 24, while studying geography, he studied the Bible and the Quran, and the verses caught his attention.
Hernandez said that he had promised himself that if he passed the geography exam successfully, he would become a Muslim, and later, after passing the exams well, he became a Muslim, and he dreamed of going on the Hajj pilgrimage on horseback like his ancestors.
Hernandez said that Harkassi and Rodriguez accompanied him on horseback in the dream, while Buchaib Jadil, a construction worker living in Spain, walked ahead and provided logistical support to the team.
Hernandez said that during the trip they encountered many events that he described as miraculous and "realized that the Hajj is also a journey of spreading religion."
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