Two Arab women mountain climbers recently embarked on a unique effort to get fellow Arab women to join them on their mountain climbing adventures
Suzanne Al Houby and Julie Amer, both of the UAE, are urging women of the Middle East region to join them as they climb the Atlas Mountains, the highest mountain range in Morocco, this coming June (2006) for a ten-day hiking trip.
Al Houby and Amer are considered the UAE's top female mountain climbers, and would like to encourage other Arab women to get fit and explore the beautiful region that they live in.
Earlier this year, Al Houby, a Palestinian mother of two, made headline when she became the first Arab woman to climb Europe's tallest mountain, Mount Elbrus.
Al Houby, who works as director of Dubai Bone and Joint Centre when she is not on a mountain range, told Gulf News, "There are not many Arab women doing this kind of thing, very few of them explore the wilderness. I have thought for a long time that it would be good symbolically to encourage Arab women to go to the highest point in Arabia and North Africa."
If the peak of the Atlas Mountains is too much of a challenge, Al Houby suggests a lower range in the Atlas Mountains, such as Mount Toubkal, explaining that the climb is possible for newer climbers.
"Lots of those taking part will be first timers and we would want to take them through the proper training. There will be hikes before the summit to help them acclimatize," she added.
"We hope people would learn something from the trip rather than just going up and down. It will be very culturally rich and extremely rewarding."
The two women recently led a team of climbers up Al Rawdha Mountain near Hatta as part of an environmental initiative.
"The trip would be a great project and I hope it would inspire the ladies who took part," said Amer.
All women from across the Arab world are invited to find out more about the climb and hopefully join and experience the joy of exploring the natural beauty of their native Middle East.
