Dubai: Suzanne Al Houby, a Palestinian-born and UAE-based mother of two, has become the first Arab woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain.
Originally from Jaffa, Palestine, 40-year-old Al Houby reached the 8,848-metre peak at 8:45 am on May 21, it was announced on Saturday.
She spent 51 days scaling Mount Everest as part of a four-person team, three of whom successfully reached the summit.
"Becoming the first Arab woman to reach the top of the world was an enormous thrill and a great privilege," Al Houby, who spent nearly two years preparing for the ascent of Everest, said in a statement on Saturday.
"I will never forget the moment when my dream became reality, when I saw the prayer flags flapping in the thin air, marking the summit of the greatest mountain on earth. Standing on the summit, I looked left to the mountains of Nepal, then looked right to the mountains of China all of them far, far below. I raised my hands, thanked God and hugged my climbing partners," she said.
In 2003, Al Houby became the first Arab woman to reach Everest Base Camp. She is also the first Arab woman to scale Mount Elbrus, the highest point in Europe, and the first Palestinian woman to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak.
To date, she has successfully reached the summit of the highest mountains on five of the world's seven continents. "I would like to share this triumph with the Palestinian people and all Arabs especially all the Arab women, young and old, who continue to contribute to the peace and stability of the region we all call home," she said.
Since the world's highest peak was first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, around 100 women from across the world have achieved this astonishing feat.
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