Thair Abud makes Dubai stopover en route to walking pilgrimage to Makkah

Historic walk is brother’s tribute to brave sister’s fight against cancer

 March 01, 2015

 Thair Abud made a stopover in Dubai en route to his walking pilgrimage to the Holy City of Makkah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Abud, who is performing his pilgrimage in tribute to a Nithir (Offering) he made to help his sister’s brave fight against cancer, arrived from a long trek from Bandarbas to Dubai and he will be going to Makkah after his brief stopover in the emirate. Upon his arrival in Dubai, he was met by supporters and followers who cheered him as he continued his trek towards Makkah. Abud’s journey, which is completely documented on his blog entitled ‘On the way today’ (https://onthewaytoday.wordpress.com), started from Graz, Austria last July 25, 2014 and follows an old pilgrimage route from Austria to Makkah. The route, which runs through Europe from Mosque to Mosque, covers 12 countries and spans 9000 kilometres (approx). Thair is expected to complete his approx 300-day journey by the end of April this year. Born to an Iraqi father and a German mother, Thair’s first pilgrimage covered a full walking journey from Austria to Santiago, Spain. The pilgrimage was made in tribute to his sister, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Upon completing the pilgrimage, Thair’s sister narrated how she kept track of his journey and forgot about the pain she was suffering from. Inspired by this, Thair then made a second offering—promising to walk all the way to Makkah if his sister would be healthy again and in recognition of his safe journey from the first pilgrimage. Thair’s inspiring journey has been followed by many. During his travels, he has come across many strangers who have taken on his plight and have sought to help him out along the way. Travelling at a walking pace of four kilometres per hour and carrying around 14 kilos of baggage each day, Thair has already used and replaced six pairs of shoes. Individuals or groups who want to support Thair and his pilgrimage can do so by ‘Buying one day!’ for EUR 40. The money collected is used for his accommodations, food and travelling essentials like shoes, ponchos, shirts and tents. In return, Thair will send sponsors a postcard of the day and will acknowledge the sponsor on his daily blog. Interested sponsors can send Thair an email with your name, email address and the day you want to buy to support@ontheway.today.