Saudi trekker Abdullah Alsulmi crosses a desert area about 350 kilometres west of Riyadh, on September 27, 2022, during his solo trek to the Qatari capital for the Fifa World Cup. AFP
Saudi trekker Abdullah Alsulmi crosses a desert area about 350 kilometres west of Riyadh, on September 27, 2022, during his solo trek to the Qatari capital for the Fifa World Cup. AFP
Saudi trekker Abdullah Alsulmi crosses a desert area about 350 kilometres west of Riyadh, on September 27, 2022, during his solo trek to the Qatari capital for the Fifa World Cup. AFP
Saudi trekker Abdullah Alsulmi crosses a desert area about 350 kilometres west of Riyadh, on September 27, 2022, during his solo trek to the Qatari capital for the Fifa World Cup. AFP

Gulf

Saudi fan treks the desert to get to World Cup

Abdullah Alsulmi joins another fan who in January started his walk to Doha from Madrid

The National

October 06, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

As the world gets ready for a month of watching football matches on a big screen, many football fans are planning their trip to Qatar to watch the action in person.

And for some football fans in the Gulf region, Doha seems too close to not make an appearance in the flesh, with other fans, in Qatar's stadiums.

After watching a television show in which a senior Qatari official promised an exceptional experience at the upcoming World Cup, Saudi Abdullah Alsulmi, 33, thought: “I will go to Doha no matter what, even if I have to walk.”

His relatives called him crazy as he started to plan his two-month, 1,600-kilometre solo trek from his home in Jeddah to Doha.

Mr Alsulmi is documenting his journey for his thousands of Snapchat followers, highlighting the amazing adventures one can have if only they give hiking a chance.

“When I do this, I want to convey to people that hiking and walking is a beautiful sport, even if the weather is difficult here in Saudi Arabia, even if the terrain is difficult. We can do it,” he told AFP.

“It is a sport for simple people. You only need a bag and a few simple things, and a tent and nature.”

Mr Alsulmi has experience with extended treks in Canada and Australia, where he used to live, but were a different experience to the heat and difficult terrain of the Arabian Peninsula.

The 974 Stadium, which will host matches during the World Cup in Qatar. All photos: Getty
The 974 Stadium, which will host matches during the World Cup in Qatar. All photos: Getty
Nine hundred and seventy-four shipping containers have been used in the construction of the 974 Stadium.
Nine hundred and seventy-four shipping containers have been used in the construction of the 974 Stadium.
Seven matches will be played there.
Seven matches will be played there.
The concourse of the 974 Stadium, where shipping containers have been used in the construction.
The concourse of the 974 Stadium, where shipping containers have been used in the construction.
Inside the empty stadium, where the cheers of fans will soon ring out.
Inside the empty stadium, where the cheers of fans will soon ring out.
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium is another Qatar venue for teams to battle it out on the pitch.
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium is another Qatar venue for teams to battle it out on the pitch.
It will also host seven World Cup matches.
It will also host seven World Cup matches.
Seats waiting to be filled with cheering supporters at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha.
Seats waiting to be filled with cheering supporters at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha.
The Education City Stadium in Qatar.
The Education City Stadium in Qatar.

He typically sets out at sunrise and walks until 10 or 10.30am, and then breaks for a few hours before resuming in the afternoon and continuing until sundown.

He also walks at night to maintain his goal of about 35km a day.

Mr Alsulmi subsists on food he can buy at petrol stations to avoid carrying a lot of weight, while showering and washing his clothes at mosques.

His social media posts capture details of life on the trail: his nightly search for a spot to sleep, and the time he spotted a scorpion dozing dangerously close to his tent.

“Walking from Jeddah to Doha, every 100 kilometres is different. I mean, the first 100 kilometres there are sand dunes, then mountains, and then comes empty land, then farms,” he said.

“I am going through all terrains in one country in two months. This is a beautiful thing.”

If all goes according to plan, Mr Alsulmi will arrive in Doha in time for Saudi Arabia's opening match against Argentina on November 22.

Madrid adventurer who's been walking since January

Meanwhile, Santiago Sanchez Cogedor, 42, started walking from the Matapinonera Stadium in Madrid's San Sebastian de los Reyes on January heading to Qatar, where he hopes to reach the 2022 Fifa World Cup in time for the opening ceremony on November 20.

Before setting out on his trip on January 8, the sports-loving adventurer had a meeting with Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Hamar, Qatar's ambassador to Spain.

Spaniard Santiago Sanchez aims to reach Qatar by foot in time for the 2022 World Cup. He left Madrid in January this year and has since crossed much of Europe and Turkey. All photos: Reuters
Spaniard Santiago Sanchez aims to reach Qatar by foot in time for the 2022 World Cup. He left Madrid in January this year and has since crossed much of Europe and Turkey. All photos: Reuters
The football aficionado, who plays in a team in Madrid, saved up the money for the trip while working in a gym and at a logistics company. To him, reaching the World Cup is not only a goal in itself, but also a deadline to drive him forward, one step at a time.
The football aficionado, who plays in a team in Madrid, saved up the money for the trip while working in a gym and at a logistics company. To him, reaching the World Cup is not only a goal in itself, but also a deadline to drive him forward, one step at a time.
'If you don't set a date for your dreams, you don't realise them,' Mr Sanchez said as he approached the town of Zakho in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
'If you don't set a date for your dreams, you don't realise them,' Mr Sanchez said as he approached the town of Zakho in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
In Zakho, he was hosted by a local Iraqi Kurdish family. One of the boys who picked him up at the Turkish border had first met him in Turkey, and offered to host him once he crossed the Iraqi border.
In Zakho, he was hosted by a local Iraqi Kurdish family. One of the boys who picked him up at the Turkish border had first met him in Turkey, and offered to host him once he crossed the Iraqi border.
To Mr Sanchez, human encounters and communication without borders are the lifeline of the sometimes exhausting journey.
To Mr Sanchez, human encounters and communication without borders are the lifeline of the sometimes exhausting journey.
He hopes to reach Qatar in time for the opening ceremony on November 20. 'I would be delighted if the team received me. I'll have a few words, a bit of time to speak to them about my experience. The power of persuasion, of sacrifice, it is not easy to reach Qatar and I want to give them a little bit of motivation so they give it all on the pitch,' he said.
He hopes to reach Qatar in time for the opening ceremony on November 20. 'I would be delighted if the team received me. I'll have a few words, a bit of time to speak to them about my experience. The power of persuasion, of sacrifice, it is not easy to reach Qatar and I want to give them a little bit of motivation so they give it all on the pitch,' he said.

“The trip will be a journey that will make me a better person, a better human being. It will be continuous learning, nights in loneliness, and I want to share that with the people I am with,” Mr Cogedor said.

He has been to the Gulf region before, when he went to Saudi Arabia by bicycle, this time he will complete his trip on foot.

He is carrying a suitcase packed with a gas stove, water purification tablets and his tent, in which he sleeps during the 11-month journey.

Last month, Mr Cogedor posted a video on his social media accounts showing that he had reached the village of Zakho in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and would soon cross the Iranian border. He also noted that he had passed Erbil and other cities on his way to his goal of covering more than 6,500 kilometres on foot in time for the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event in the world.

The adventurer, who frequently uploads updates on his adventure, has been sleeping in his tent, at hotels, or with new friends he has made along the road as he travels to Qatar.

He estimated that the journey would take about a year, which is why he set out early in January.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this story.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts

Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.

The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.

Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.

More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.

The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.

Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:

November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.

May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.

February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.

December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.

July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.

May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.

New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.

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Rating: 4/5

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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

Winners

Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)

Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

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Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes

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Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January

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  2. Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
  3. Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
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