.. 5,650 kilometres on foot ..
MOSCOW: A 47-year-old Bosnian Muslim has covered a staggering 5,650 kilometres on foot to reach the holy city of Mecca to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Senad Hadzic reportedly took 10 months to reach the Muslim holy city in southwestern Saudi Arabia crossing Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Jordan as well as war-torn Syria during his walking journey.
"There was not a day, which was easy. Every day was difficult," Hadzic, who reached Saudi Arabia several days ago, told journalists, Ria Novosti reported.
Hadzic left on foot the town of Banovici, in the northeast of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in December carrying an amount of approximately 200 euros (around $260) and a backpack weighing about 20 kilogrammes.
During his 314-days sojourn, he had to face many difficulties.
In December he had to suffer frosts of -35 degrees Celsius, while crossing Bulgaria, the agency reported.
He said problems started already on the Syrian border and after that Hadzic had to negotiate repeatedly either with government troops or with rebels as he was crossing the country.
"One of the Syrian soldiers asked me to pray for him in Mecca if I manage to survive," Hadzic said.
