ON A MISSION: Gorkan Jung has biked 43,000 km since he began his mission in September 2012.

He has escaped a pack of wolves, was attacked by thieves and shot at, but a Turkish man plans to continue his globetrotting odyssey by bicycle to highlight environmental concerns.

Gorkan Jung recently passed through Riyadh. He will head to Makkah for Umrah, having already completed 43,000 km since he began his mission in September 2012.

Jung said he has a desire to protect nature and live a healthy life. During his stopover in Riyadh, he said: “I’ll try to show people that cycling is an ideal way to travel. If you want to save the world, your country and nature, then you should use a bike. You can go anywhere in any weather.”

He arrived in the Kingdom after visiting Jerusalem. His next destinations: Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. He will also visit countries in Africa.

He has already been to several cities in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. “Over the past three months I have been going to different places in the Kingdom. I came to the Kingdom to perform Umrah,” Jung said.

He said the best place he visited so far was Jerusalem because he saw the Al-Aqsa Mosque and a church close by. He could hear the call to prayer, church bells and people praying everywhere. “Then why are we fighting? I don’t understand it,” he said.

Source: ArabNews