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Two South Africans Peddled Their Way To Perform The Holy Hajj

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. “Pedaling our way to the Kingdom from Cape Town was a grueling experience. We wanted to travel this way so that we are prepared to experience the rigors of performing the pilgrimage,” Cairncross, a town planner by profession, told Arab News over the telephone on Monday night.

From Cape Town to Arafat, Nathim Cairncross, right, and Imtiyaz Ahmad Haron are on a cycling journey to Haj.

Both set out on their journey for the annual pilgrimage on Feb. 7 on their bicycles. They pedaled through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Turkey, Syria and Jordan before reaching the Saudi border. “This is our first Haj. We could have come for Haj by plane, but it was our cherished desire to travel differently, so we chose to use our bicycles, as cycling is what we both love the most,” Cairncross said.

Both pedaled 80 to 100 km daily and took rest in mosques or tents after dusk and set out again after dawn. “People have been very cooperative and courteous. At every place that we passed through, they welcomed us and were happy to know that we were going for Haj. Food was never a problem as people took delight in offering us the choicest dishes. Of course, it was tiresome to pedal throughout the journey, especially when negotiating mountainous regions,” Cairncross added.

Language was a big problem for both of them. “Once we entered the Arab countries, we decided to pick up Arabic, especially while traveling through Syria and Jordan. This suited us well when we reached the Saudi border where the security officials were very friendly and welcomed and greeted us. They were also happy to know that we have undertaken this arduous journey to fulfill our Haj dream,” Cairncross said. “We came with a very small budget and we found to our delight there were people readily prepared to offer us the local cash and meet our needs.”

Both did not encounter any serious problem on their way through nine countries in the course of their nine-month journey. “All we did was to change tires and tubes, and fix the pedal chain from time to time.

Asked why they chose to ride bicycles, Cairncross said: “This gives us a lot of opportunity to meet and interact with different people in different countries. Additionally, we continued with our Dawa work wherever we stopped for our overnight stays.”

Both Cairncross and Haron are students of Islamic law and have studied Shariah. “I joined a university and completed a course in town planning and am working in the field of construction,” Cairncross said.

Both of them are single and love sports. While Cairncross is interested in wind surfing along beaches and seas, Haron, an economics graduate, excels in kickboxing and mountain climbing.

After the pilgrimage, both propose to return home via West Africa.

World's Tallest Clock Tower (Maasha-Allah)

Abraj-Al-Bait World's Tallest Clock Tower In Makkah-Al-Mukarramah

 

The Makkah Clock, which Riyadh says is the world’s largest, has four faces measuring 43 metres in diameter.

The clock will dwarf London’s Big Ben, once the largest four-faced clock in the world, with dials more than five times greater in area.

The around 130 foot (40 meter) diameter Saudi clock dials are also bigger than the current world champion at the Cevahir Mall clock in Istanbul, which has a 36 meter face set in the transparent roof of the shopping complex.

Over 90 million pieces of coloured glass mosaic embellish the sides of the clock, which has four faces each bearing a large inscription of the name “Allah”. It is visible from all corners of the city, the state news agency said.

Each face will be inscribed with “God is greatest” in Arabic and fitted with thousands of colored lights. The clock will be visible from more than 16 miles (25 kilometers).

A huge golden crescent moon, 75 feet (23 meters) in diameter, will eventually rise above the clock on a 200 foot (61 meter) spire, from which some 15 beams will shoot up into the sky. The entire clock, from the base up to the crescent, itself will be 820 feet (251 meters) high.

At 151 feet in diameter, the four clock faces on the Makkah clock tower is just about as wide as an American 160-foot-wide football field, and absolutely dwarfs the world’s most famous tower clock faces, Big Ben’s 23-footers. It also takes advantage of modern technology, as its four faces will light up the sky with two million LEDs.

German and Swiss engineers designed the clock and according to the Ministry of Religious Endowments, the entire project will cost $800 million.

The seven tower complex is being built by developer Saudi Binladen Group, the press agency reported.

 

Final touches are being given to the world’s biggest clock in Makkah clock tower for its trial run on August, 11th, during the first week of the holy month of Ramadan. The Makkah Clock project, which has been developed by engineers from Germany and Switzerland along with a team of specialists from Europe and around the world, will be fully completed after three months in operation.

The clock, with a diametre of more than 40 metres, which can be seen from a distance of eight kilometres, is part of the 400-metre clock tower. The clock will be six times bigger than London’s Big Ben.

The Makkah Clock Royal Tower complex includes over 500 shopping outlets and food courts, luxury apartments on levels 30 to 52, five ‘Royal’ floors, and the 1,005-room Fairmont Hotel, which covers a further 28 floors. There are a total of 76 elevators.

The tower housing the clock is being built in a peculiar Islamic style of architecture while the clock will have four faces – one in each direction. The Name of Allah will be inscribed on each of the four clock faces and two lifts will carry visitors to a balcony below the clocks.

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