Cairo -

"Follow your passion and accept the consequences", that sentence remains a magical effect in the hearts of many, causing them to do things that may seem crazy on the surface, but in reality are more rational for those who do them.

This applies to Ismail Abdel Latif. Despite his age of 64, he decided to walk a distance of 3600 kilometers to 4000 kilometers from the heart of Cairo to Saudi Arabia, from the heart of Cairo to Saudi Arabia, to perform Umrah, and then pass through Madinah to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and pray in it, then He returns again to Cairo on the back of his bike.

motives and reasons

"All the physical and psychological pain ended when I stood in front of the Great Mosque of Mecca," this is how Ismail Abdel Latif begins his talk to Al Jazeera Net, describing his feeling when he got there by confirming that it was worth the experience.

And about the motives that made him go for this trip, he added, "I always wanted to do something new and different, especially with my love of riding a motorcycle, which I have given great attention to in recent days, and although my hobby is not long ago (6 years), I decided to go to places Far beyond the borders of Egypt, so traveling to Saudi Arabia was for me.”

details of the trip

Ismail recounts the details of his trip, saying that he returned to Cairo on the fourth of last November, after the trip that began on October 26 last, adding that he passed during his journey from Cairo to Hurghada and from there he entered the port to take the ferry to Duba On a journey that lasted 4 hours, and from Duba, passing through Yanbu and then Mecca, where he performed the obligation of Umrah and went to make two plants with the covering of the Kaaba in the Kiswa factory, then he went with his colleagues accompanying him - the author of 22 other cyclists - to the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah to meet the Egyptian ambassador, then They headed to the Jeddah Hilton Hotel to receive certificates of appreciation for participating in the event from the League of Arab States, one of the main sponsors of the event, and then went to Madinah to visit the Prophet's Mosque.

He pointed out that the trip had been planned to take 4 years ago, but it was just ideas on paper at the time, and it was postponed for various reasons, the latest of which was the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, and after serious steps from the Egyptian Federation of Cyclists of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Egypt, the union decided in cooperation with "United Rally". In Saudi Arabia, it was held under the slogan "Arab Solidarity Rally", in which many 22 riders participated, including a couple with their wives and another 71-year-old cyclist.

A long journey made by Ismail and 22 cyclists from Egypt to Saudi Arabia by motorcycle to perform Umrah (Al-Jazeera)

It is noteworthy that the Rally of the Arab Solidarity March in Saudi Arabia includes a group of Arab countries. In addition to Egypt, there are Sudan, Djibouti and Jordan.

Ismail indicated that they divided the road, after every 150 kilometers they had a rest, and the speed did not exceed in all cases 120 kilometers per hour in the round trip.

He pointed out that the trip was not financed by any party, but he bore its full costs, which he described as the great cost to him, as it exceeded the barrier of 30,000 pounds ($1900), according to his words, stressing that it was not as easy as some might expect, sitting on the bike. Motorcycles for long periods of time are stressful for the back, and the uncomfortable sitting position and lack of sleep on the day of the ferry journey increased the factors of difficulty and danger, because the driver is required to focus all the time on the road and stay awake.


The most difficult situation

Regarding the most difficult situations he faced on the trip, Ismail recalled a situation on the outbound trip that almost missed the opportunity to complete the trip, as one of his bike tires was damaged due to passing on a sharp stone, which led to the trip being disrupted, but despite that the entire team stood with him, although he He asked them to complete the route and tried to get help from one of the people who helped him replace the damaged tire until he then caught up with the team and continued his journey.

Egyptian cyclist Ismail Abdel Latif says that the cost of the trip is great for him, as it exceeded 30,000 pounds, or 1900 dollars (Al-Jazeera)

Regarding the licenses and procedures that he needed to make the trip, Ismail says that they included the necessity of having a valid passport instead of an international motorcycle driving license, along with basic spare parts to carry out maintenance if circumstances required, pointing out that entering Saudi Arabia was through an official letter proving that he was part of the event team. Which made it much easier for them to move around.

reactions

Ismail pointed out that some people in Egypt received what he was doing with amazement that sometimes reached disbelief, but what made him justify his position was that he was keen throughout the trip to make a live broadcast on his page on social media, stressing that if he had the opportunity to repeat a trip like this, he would go To do it again, stressing also that he enjoyed the spiritual atmosphere and the picturesque nature that he saw instead of the beautiful spirit of all those he met along the way.