A travel explorer from Bradford has trekked over 20,000 miles to fulfil his big adventure-dream of visiting all seven wonders of the world.
Having ticked off six of the seven wonders of the world, the intrepid Imran Fazil, 41, now hopes to complete his journey in 2025 by going to the Taj Mahal with his wife Sehrish, daughters Aisha, Maria, and son Adam.
So far, he’s fulfilled his dream of visiting the Colosseum in Rome, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Petra in Jordan.
The feat is based on the ‘Seven Wonders of the Ancient World’, a list of notable structures that were present during 8th century BC and the 5th century AD.
Imran explains: “As the Taj Mahal stands for timeless symbol of love, I therefore plan to take my wife and children to complete the seven wonders. I’m south Asian (Pakistani) so going to the Taj Mahal, close to my ancestral roots with my family, would be the finishing touch.”
Imran first visited the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, in 2008, one of the newly added wonders of the world. Bit by the travel bug, he wanted to complete the rest of the challenge and visit the other countries.
As part of his travels, Imran paid a trip to the Great Pyramids in Egypt where the only surviving of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World stands.
Imran, a secondary school ICT and PE teacher, said: “From a young age, I wanted to always travel.
“When I went to Rome in 2008 it had loads of beautiful places like the Vatican and the Colosseum. Just so much history. I found that it was one of the new wonders of the world, so it has always been on my list to do the others.”
Imran adds that Machu Picchu in Peru is his favourite place that he’s visited, because of its mesmerising views.
He said: “Each one of the wonders has its own unique experiences but the Machu Picchu was breathtaking.
“I would encourage people to go see these wonderful places. With each one, you get to feel the culture and see lots of other travellers from around the world.”
Imran has previously visited various other countries including America, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.
But after completing the ‘Seven Wonders’ check-list, he hopes to visit Africa again. “I’ve not explored Africa as much as I’d have liked,” he explains. “Areas such as Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. I’m excited about having the chance to see their different cultures, landscape, food and people.”
He concludes with a travel mantra: “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. Travelling to all of these countries has opened up my mind, to be grateful for what I have. Alhamdulillah.”
FACT FILE
In 2007, a worldwide poll was held to select the New 7 Wonders of the World. The winning wonders were:
- The Great Wall of China
- Chichén Itzá
- Petra
- Machu Picchu
- Christ the Redeemer
- The Colosseum
- The Taj Mahal
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