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French Traveler Crosses 13 Countries on Foot to Perform Umrah, Pray at Two Holy Mosques

French traveler Mohamed Boulabiar. (SPA)
French traveler Mohamed Boulabiar. (SPA)
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French Traveler Crosses 13 Countries on Foot to Perform Umrah, Pray at Two Holy Mosques

French traveler Mohamed Boulabiar. (SPA)
French traveler Mohamed Boulabiar. (SPA)

French traveler Mohamed Boulabiar spent eight months on a journey on foot to perform the Umrah in Saudi Arabia.

His 8,000-kilometer journey started from Paris and he trekked through 13 countries to reach the city of Madinah. He will then proceed to the holy city of Makkah to perform the Umrah.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) met Boulabiar in the courtyards of the Prophet's Mosque on Tuesday, mere hours after completing his journey through various terrains and enduring numerous weather conditions. Despite the difficulties and dangers, he was undeterred from his goal of reaching the holy sites on foot.

Boulabiar, born in France to a Tunisian father and a Moroccan mother, remarked: "I did not encounter any problems on the road, but the biggest challenge was the weather. I departed in the summer and arrived in the spring, passing through autumn and winter, enduring storms and thunder. At one stage, a snowstorm at the Greek border delayed my trip by a week."

"I walked in temperatures of around 40°C, but thankfully, everything went smoothly. I am overjoyed to be here," he added.

He revealed that this was his first visit to the Gulf, adding that he has received a warm welcome. "People stopped me on the road to offer food and drink. I am immensely grateful to be here and to have completed the journey."

Boulabiar explained that he started preparing for his journey both physically and mentally two years ago. He kicked it off on August 27, starting from the Eiffel Tower.

His trek took him through France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Türkiye, and Jordan, before finally reaching Saudi Arabia.

He relied on a map and essential provisions, slept in a tent and occasionally spent nights in mosques. Benevolent strangers would also sometimes learn of his journey and invite him to spend the night.

"This has been a childhood dream. I yearned to arrive in Makkah on foot, emulating the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions," he added.

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Ozempic Hailed as 'Fountain of Youth' that Slows Aging

The is available under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic (Photo by Reuters)
The is available under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic (Photo by Reuters)
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Ozempic Hailed as 'Fountain of Youth' that Slows Aging

The is available under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic (Photo by Reuters)
The is available under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic (Photo by Reuters)

The anti-obesity drug Ozempic could slow down ageing and has “far-reaching benefits” beyond what was imagined, researchers have suggested.

Multiple studies have found semaglutide (available under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic) reduced the risk of death in people who were obese or overweight and had cardiovascular disease without diabetes, The Independent reported.

Responding to research published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology, Professor Harlan M Krumholz from the Yale School of Medicine, said: “Semaglutide, perhaps by improving cardiometabolic health, has far-reaching benefits beyond what we initially imagined.”

He added: “These ground-breaking medications are poised to revolutionise cardiovascular care and could dramatically enhance cardiovascular health.”

Multiple reports also quoted Professor Krumholz saying: “Is it a fountain of youth?”

He said: “I would say if you’re improving someone’s cardiometabolic health substantially, then you are putting them in a position to live longer and better.

“It’s not just avoiding heart attacks. These are health promoters. It wouldn’t surprise me that improving people’s health this way actually slows down the ageing process.”

The studies, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Conference 2024 in London, were produced from the Select trial which studied 17,604 people aged 45 or older who were overweight or obese and had established cardiovascular disease but not diabetes.

They received 2.4 mg of semaglutide or a placebo and were tracked for more than three years.

A total of 833 participants died during the study with 5 percent of the deaths were related to cardiovascular causes and 42 per cent from others.

Infection was the most common cause death beyond cardiovascular, but it occurred at a lower rate in the semaglutide group than the placebo group.

People using the weight-loss drug were just as likely to catch Covid-19, but they were less likely to die from it – 2.6 percent dying among those on semaglutide versus 3.1 per cent on the placebo.

Researchers found women experienced fewer major adverse cardiovascular events, but semaglutide “consistently reduced the risk” of adverse cardiovascular outcomes regardless of sex.

Dr Benjamin Scirica, lead author of one of the studies and a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Harvard Medical School, said: “The robust reduction in non-cardiovascular death, and particularly infections deaths, was surprising and perhaps only detectable because of the Covid-19-related surge in non-cardiovascular deaths.

“These findings reinforce that overweight and obesity increases the risk of death due to many etiologies, which can be modified with potent incretin-based therapies like semaglutide.”

Dr Jeremy Samuel Faust, an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, praised the researchers for adapting the study to look at Covid-19 when the pandemic started.

He said the findings that the weight-loss drug to reduce Covid-19 mortality rates were “akin to a vaccine against the indirect effects of a pathogen.”