Five centuries ago, Andalusian Muslims used to travel on horseback from southern Spain to Mecca to complete the Hajj pilgrimage. 500 years later, three men are attempting to revive this tradition.
Hosted by Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, three friends named Abdallah Hernandez, Abdelkader Harkassi, and Tariq Rodriguez are traveling together to revive a 500 year-old Andalusian Muslim tradition.
To fully grasp this surreal moment, we must review the history of Islamic rule in Spain. Islamic rule in Spain was predominantly in southern Spain, known as Andalusia. The “golden age” of Islam was during the Umayyad dynasty (756-1032). The “golden age” refers to an era where Islamic scholars provided major contributions in areas of literature, architecture, and mathematics.
The Muslim empire declined gradually because of increased tension between Muslim rulers and non-Muslim citizens and division between Muslim rulers. In 1492, the Islamic empire lost all power and Christian rulers were in power. These rulers issued orders requiring all Muslims to convert to Christianity and imposed cruel restrictions on the remaining Muslims.
In 1990, Abdallah Hernandez came up with the idea while working in geography, studying the Bible and Quran extensively. Before taking a geography exam, he promised himself that if he passed the exam, then he would revert to Islam. Lo and behold, after passing the exam, he reverted to Islam and vowed to complete Hajj on horseback, just like his ancestors. 30 years later, he is fulfilling his promise.
The journey is meant to last approximately three and a half months spanning 8,000 kilometers, or 4,970 miles. Beginning from southern Spain, the group will reach Saudi Arabia through Syria, after traveling through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, and then a final trek to Mecca.
The group has been training for three years in Spain and Portugal, practicing on Arabian horses to prepare for diverse landscapes and extreme weather conditions. Harkassi, one of the pilgrims, spoke about his excitement for what was to come. “We have had funny moments and adventures. We saw that Allah was with us. We embarked on this journey with pure intentions to realize the Hajj.”
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain_1.shtml
https://hajjonhorseback.com/about-us/