Bound for Mecca, these pilgrims boarded Spain on horses – and on Instagram

More than 1.5 million people traveled to Saudi Arabia this year for Haj. Only three of them rode on the horse’s back all the way from Spain, rebuilt the pilgrimage of Andalusi Muslims centuries ago and shared their journey in the most modern way with great followers on social media.In Bosnia, he lost the days in search of borrowed horses which were freed after a fear and wandered into a mine. In France, the horses were nervous in a tunnel filled with mud, and drowned before a pilgrim, in the walk and chest, helped pull the animal out. “We were really scared … a lot of horses were jumping,” Abdelkadar Harkasi AD said, a rider.‘Haj on horsback’, as he called the project, prepared four years and a journey of about seven months was sometimes traveled with a trusted area in about a dozen countries. Travel, in a sense, there was a test of his faith in God, humanity and internet. The project attracted more than 345,000 followers and over 250,000 tickets on Instagram. Some of his posts – in the camp, cooking, dropping the horses down, and running into obstacles, who traveled several miles in the journey – have been viewed more than 550,000 times. It was not always clear that the group would create it, but their fans helped with supply and assistance to the ground, and with the proposals of assistance, such as donations and a logo re -evaluation.Pilgrims, Haraksi, Abdullah Rafael Hernandez Manch and Tarek Rodriguez are Spanish Muslims. The seeds of his project began to sprout a few 35 years ago when Hernandez converted to Islam and promised to make Haj someday – and to do it on a horse.About six years ago, Harakasi and Hernandez met on a project when they revealed their dreams and later agreed to help them immediately. He then rode extended exercises, created endurance and promoted the cameradari receiving them through the journey. Rodriguez later joined him. Trio set from Spain with around $ 1,700 each from last October. They ran out of the fund at the early stages of the journey, but before leaving, they started pleading, including a crowdfunding site, where they raised around $ 56,000 for supply, horse feeding, care and logistics. In a post on his arrival, the group said that they were grateful to the “extraordinary” journey that brought him to Mecca. For riders, the lowest point came in Italy, when they had very little money, they were cold, and roads were busy and difficult. From there they traveled from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria and Jordan through Saudi Arabia. They got closer to each limit, never ensured what would be the rules for their unusual form of transport.Nevertheless, Harakasi said, their favorite parts often come right after cleaning those obstacles, once they entered a country and congratulated them enthusiastically. They expect to create a documentary about their journey.