In their own words, married couple Asma and Ahmad Sayeg were “two English Muslims, who made this long trip across half the world to visit countries that were of interest to us from a religious point of view. Nevertheless, the story itself we feel sure, will be of great interest to all the youth of the world, who may be interested in cycling, camping and out-door adventure” (p7).
The Sayegs converted to Islam in 1950 after attending meetings at the mosque in Woking, Surrey. They conceived of their cycling adventure as a way to familiarise themselves with the countries of the Muslim world, and as an intrepid means to cement their newfound faith.
Financial constraints limited their choice of vehicle, and they settled on a thirty five year old tandem, fitted with a small motor on the back, as well as a side-car for their luggage and their Pekinese dog Chiang. Their journey took them across the French Alps, through Switzerland and Italy, on to Yugoslavia, where they ran out of money. An act of kindness from a Yugoslavian businessman refilled their coffer, and on they went to Greece and Turkey. They were warned off their original plan to travel through Iran, and instead took the train from Nusaybin through Syria and into Iraq. They reached Mosul and Baghdad just as winter set in, and found themselves much suspected of being British Intelligence agents. From here they travelled to Tehran after all, and on to their goal destination of Pakistan. They receive a royal welcome at Karachi, however the exhaustion of their funds required that they remain for some time, Ahmad taking a job writing articles for the Civil & Military Gazette, culminating in the first edition of this narrative. Asma became president of the Ladies Division of the Karachi Cycling Association, and their adventures brought them some celebrity. A chance meeting with the High Commissioner of Ceylon led to a special visa being granted for Chiang the Pekinese to enter Singapore and Sri Lanka. The tale ends with them happily exploring Colomo, Kandi and the ruins of Anuradhapura. The fact that this extended edition was printed there, and is much augmented with front and back matter advertising local businesses, would suggest that they once again sought to generate a little income from their story before continuing on.
The first edition was published in Karachi in the same year. It had the title 7,000 Miles on a Tandem, and this Ceylon edition with its updated title, is described as a “continuation” of the previous, with the addition of a second part detailing their journey onward. Indeed, the updated milage of the title is some indication of the distance between the two editions, both produced en route.
Given the charming nature of its contents, it is unusual that there appears not to have been a UK edition of the book. Indeed, the Sayegs rather slip off the map in South East Asia, and their return journey is something of a mystery. The inscription in this copy gives a hint, placing them in Singapore in February of 1953. Ahmad contributed an article to the November 1957 issue of The Islamic Review, suggesting they had by then returned to Woking, where that magazine was published. In a pleasing touch of circularity, it’s noted in that issue of The Islamic Review that the Ceylon distributor of the periodical is W. M. A. Wahid and Bros, the publisher of the present book.
This book is rare: this edition is unrecorded in OCLC, RBH, LibraryHub and internet searches. OCLC finds one copy only of the Karachi edition, at the British Library.
