(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Omani biker Maher al Barwani, who began a road trip to the African continent on July 22, 2017 aiming to cover 46 countries, has reached Malawi after leaving Tanzania where he spent most of his time exploring and visiting different parts of the country. Malawi is his tenth country.
Speaking from Malawi, Barwani said his biggest challenge was to get sponsorship for his journey.
'I got sponsorship from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to kickstart my dream journey. The rest of my journey is self-sponsored.'
Barwani said he received a warm welcome in Tanzania and that is why he stayed there long. 'I have found out that Oman and Tanzania have strong relations and every corner of Tanzania has Omanis. I wanted to explore more of how Omanis had influenced Tanzania especially due to sizeable population of Omanis there,' he said.
While in Tanzania, Barwani was welcomed by Tanzanian vice president Samia Suluhu Hassan as well as two former Tanzanian presidents Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. 'They were happy with what I was doing – promoting Oman in Africa,' Barwani said. While in Zanzibar (a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa), Barwani was given a flag by the Ministry of Tourism in Zanzibar to promote the region till he exits the place.
From Muscat he travelled to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, then to Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and now Malawi. 'So far I have travelled about 29,000km,' he said. Barwani said he aims to be the first Omani to travel the whole of African continent on a motorcycle. 'While on the road, I spread the message of love and peace from Oman. I also spread traffic awareness, boost ties between states and look to promote the sultanate, historical, cultural and tourism components,' he said.
Though Barwani is getting the support of his family and friends, he hopes to get more official support on all aspects of the journey. Barwani is a trained mechanic. 'I ride solo and carry all that I require with me. I am not very sure when I will return home but it will be this year,' he said.
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