Cairo. Three Spanish pilgrims performing the Hajj in Saudi Arabia rode on horseback to Mecca, traveling thousands of kilometers through snow and rain along a route they said had not been traversed for more than 500 years.

Abdelkader Harkassi Aidi, Tarek Rodriguez, and Abdallah Rafael Hernandez Mancha set out from southern Spain in October, riding through France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan before arriving in Saudi Arabia in May.

It was an emotional moment for the trio when they reached Mecca. No pilgrim had traveled this path since 1491, they said.

Harkassi said the group’s journey from Spain covered about 8,000 kilometers (nearly 5,000 miles) before they reached the Kaaba, the black cube-shaped structure in the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

“We had crossed so many kilometers to be there, and Allah had answered our prayers,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday from Arafat, southeast of Mecca. “We stood in front of the Kaaba and had the opportunity to touch it. So, those 8,000 kilometers became nothing.”

During their months-long journey, they passed through scenic natural landscapes and historical landmarks in Syria, including the Aleppo Citadel and the Umayyad Mosque.

They also discovered an old railway track built during the Ottoman Empire that connected Istanbul to Saudi Arabia. They followed it for days to help guide them to the desert kingdom.

But the trip had its challenges. They lost their horses in Bosnia, only to find them later in a landmine zone. No one could retrieve the horses because of the explosives, but the animals eventually made it out unharmed, Harkassi said.

For the team, the human kindness they encountered was the most valuable part of the journey.

“When we had nothing, people helped us with our horses and food; they even gave us money. When our support vehicle broke down, they fixed it for us,” Harkassi said. “People have been incredible. I think it’s proof that Muslims are united — that the one ummah (nation) every Muslim longs for is a reality.”

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