Turkish student reaches Mecca after hitchhiking across 3 countries

An 18-year-old Imam-Hatip high school student from Istanbul and his friend reached the holy lands in Saudi Arabia after traveling approximately 3,200 kilometers (1,988 miles) by hitchhiking through Türkiye, Syria and Jordan.

Ali Haydar Erol and his friend rode nearly 40 vehicles during their journey, which began in Istanbul on Aug. 3. They arrived in Medina on Aug. 9.

Erol says he had previously traveled to different cities in Türkiye by hitchhiking before deciding to include the holy lands in one of his journeys.

The pair traveled from Istanbul to Ankara by changing seven vehicles, then continued through Aksaray, Niğde and Hatay. After staying in Hatay for one night, they crossed into Syria through the Cilvegözü Border Gate.

They next traveled through Hama, Homs and Damascus, riding in around 15 vehicles before reaching the Jordanian border.

Since they were not allowed to cross the border on foot, they were taken to Zarqa by another vehicle and continued by hitchhiking to Amman. After spending time with a university student friend in Amman, they continued toward Ma’an city.

They rode 10 different vehicles in Jordan before entering Saudi Arabia.

After entering Saudi Arabia, the pair walked in the heat until they met a taxi driver, who, upon learning they were traveling to Medina by hitchhiking, offered to take them to Tabuk for free.

In Tabuk, another person drove them approximately 200 kilometers. Later, when they struggled to find a vehicle at night, a taxi driver who realized they were Turkish refused payment and took them to a bus station. They then took a bus to Medina.

Erol says he felt a deep sense of spiritual peace upon arriving in the city, describing it as calm and filled with people focused on worship.

The pair first visited the Rawdah at the Prophet’s Mosque, which is known as the “Garden of Paradise.”

“I felt free of all my exhaustion. After a weeklong journey, I found spiritual peace,” Erol says.

During their one day in Medina, they visited Quba Mosque, Qiblatain Mosque and Mount Uhud.

A person who saw videos of their journey on social media later offered to take the pair from Medina to Mecca for free.

Erol says seeing the Kaaba for the first time was an emotional experience.

“When I saw it for the first time, I was deeply moved and cried,” he says. “When I saw the Kaaba directly in front of me, I realized that it was not like it appears in photographs. It is enormous and magnificent. It has a very unique atmosphere.”

Erol says the people they met along their journey showed them hospitality after learning that they were traveling to the holy lands for Umrah. Some asked them to pray for them, while others offered them money or accommodations.

He says his family was initially worried about the journey but became happy and proud after seeing their posts from Mecca and Medina.

Despite the difficulties, Erol says he is considering making another Umrah journey next summer.

DAILYSABAH