MAKKAH – Riding his bike for thousands of miles, a Russian Muslim has finally reached the holy city of Makkah to fulfill his life-time dream of performing hajj.
The Russian Muslim, 24-year-old Bulat Nassib Abdulla left Russia on the first day of Ramadan on June 6.
All through the past three months, he pedaled his way to reach Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage.
Saudi Hajj and Umrah Ministry Undersecretary Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Bejawi received Abdulla in Madinah before heading to Makkah, reported local Arabic daily Sabq.
Abdulla is not the first pilgrim to cycle his way to Makkah for hajj.
Last month, a Chinese national also made headlines as he cycled around 8,150km and reached Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Muslims from around the world pour into Makkah every year to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.
Hajj consists of several rituals, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.
Hajj starts on the eighth day of the lunar month of Dhul Hijjah, which falls this year on September 10.
The Russian and Chinese pilgrims are not the first Muslims to take the challenge to arrive Makkah with a different method than traditional transportations.
In 2012, 47-year-old Bosnian Muslim Senad Hadzic reached the holy city of Makkah on foot to perform hajj.
During his journey, the Muslim man walked for nearly 3,600 miles (5,900 km) from his Bosnian village to the holy city of Makkah.
In May 2014, a group of Malaysians rode their bicycles from Kuala Lumpur to Madinah.