British Muslim spreads hope, inspiration on trek from London to Mecca

ISTANBUL/ANKARA Seeking to show the world that Islam is a peaceful religion, British national Farid Feyadi, 40, has undertaken thousands of miles to reach Mecca from London -- on foot. A resident of Manchester, designer and inventor Fayedi recounted his ongoing journey to Anadolu Agency while he was in Istanbul. He launched his project, Walk For Peace, to inspire the young generation and prove to the world that Muslims are peaceful. "As a Muslim, I believe each of us is an ambassador of this religion, we have a big responsibility on our shoulders to represent Islam and Muslims in the best way to the world. I tried to do something in the very peaceful and show Islam is a wave of peace and comes from Salaam," he said, decrying the "bad impression" of the religion and "horrible" deeds by Daesh/ISIS. Though his first intention was to make the pilgrimage via bicycle, he later decided to go on foot once he found out others had also made the journey in that manner. "I said if they can do it, why shouldn't I? So, I decided to do it by walking. When I told my friends, they didn't believe me," he recalled. 'I was so excited' Making the pilgrimage to Mecca -- a religious obligation for Muslims with sufficient means -- on foot is an honor and blessing, he said, recounting: "I started this journey on Nov. 3, 2019. I have never experienced traveling like this, I have traveled by plane, I booked nice hotels, but never like this." "I was so excited!" he added. Once he made the five-day journey from London to Dover, where he took a ferry to Calais, France in mainland Europe, he exclaimed he was "so excited because I couldn't believe I was doing it”. Feyadi said he had to change his trolley thrice so far due to his lack of experience using it, and faced difficulties along the way. "I have too many dangerous experiences while camping in places far from city centers. I was scared, but then I decided to camp in city centers or where there are people I can reach," he added. So far, he has worn out four pairs of shoes and is now on his fifth, even as he takes medicines and vitamins every night to mollify the aching in his knees from a long day's journey. Summer arrival Feyadi plans to arrive in the sacred city of the Kaaba, where millions of Muslims journey every year, in July, as the scorching summer heat takes hold of the region. "I've walked 4,000 km [2,485 miles] to Istanbul. I pushed myself very hard to arrive in Istanbul," he said, adding that he had roughly 2,700 km to go. After Istanbul, near Turkey’s northeastern-most corner, Feyadi marched on southeastward to the capital Ankara and is on his way to the central city of Konya, down to Antalya on the Mediterranean coast. From there, he will make the only non-foot segment of his journey, catching a flight to Jordan to avoid ongoing violence in Syria and Iraq. "I will continue my journey to Saudi Arabia from Jordan. Hopefully, I will arrive in July," he said. One reason for his arriving late, he explains, will be the weather, as the rising temperatures will bar him from walking at his usual pace. According to his calculations, he has budgeted his time well and is about three weeks ahead of schedule. Enduring all this, Feyadi hopes to inspire hope in cancer patients the world over. "I'm a kidney cancer survivor, I live with one kidney. I'm doing this project and I walk between 60 km every day. All this blessing comes from Allah. If he wouldn't help, I wouldn't reach here. I've been in the heavy rain, snow and cold water," he said.