# 3 Spanish Pilgrims Ride to Hajj and Revive Historic Route on Horseback

> Three men journeyed 4,000 miles on horseback from Spain to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, retracing the historic Andalusian Muslim pilgrimage. Facing minefields, muddy tunnels, and escaped horses, their seven-month trek spanned…

Published: 2026-09-16 · Desk: World · Source: The New York Times

More than 1.5 million people traveled to Saudi Arabia this year for Hajj, but only three of them made the journey on horseback — all the way from Spain. Their goal was to recreate the historic pilgrimage of Andalusian Muslims from centuries past. They documented their journey on social media, adding a modern layer to an ancient tradition.

The journey was filled with challenges. In Bosnia, they spent days searching for borrowed horses that had escaped in fear and wandered into a minefield. In France, one horse panicked in a muddy tunnel and nearly drowned. One of the pilgrims had to wade chest-deep through the muck to help rescue it.

“We were really scared. We didn’t know what to do. There were too many horses jumping,” said Abdelkader Harkassi Aidi, one of the riders. “We thought we’d lose that horse.” The project, called Hajj on Horseback, took four years of planning and about seven months to complete. They traveled nearly 4,000 miles across around a dozen countries, often facing dangerous terrain.

Their journey wasn’t just a physical test — it was also a powerful demonstration of faith in God, in humanity, and, surprisingly, in the internet.

Original reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/world/europe/hajj-horses-spain-mecca.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawK-ILdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFsSnFNNjd1cU1rcnBjbHE0AR6jKCk0_q7rjcyqYAG53jytImlfYLn_GgzXB4OjaaWuH3iJlcmT4KdEPtyv5g_aem_l4zflEnOJ0wzPXn97PeriQ
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