No one can say Maryam Ferdous isn’t interesting. After studying medicine at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah and working at the National Guard hospital, she took up hang-gliding, diving, and horseback riding. She’s not your average doctor.
Her latest adventure was diving with Captain Husam Shukri in some pretty cold water, 28 degrees below zero, to be precise. That must have been an adjustment coming from Saudi weather. The pair pushed the limits, spending 35 minutes in the freezing water, the longest the human body can handle.
That sounds like a ton of fun to us, but they also did it to break a record. Their North Pole diving earned each of them a spot in the Guinness Book of Records, and they are the first Arabs to undertake this feat.
Her record-breaking adventure didn’t go unnoticed – she was honoured by the Hajjaj Establishment in Non-Arab Africa for the intense challenges that she took up and surpassed as a Saudi woman.
They also recognized her family’s efforts towards charity and peace. Her family takes care of the Twafa, pilgrims going to Makkah and Madina, so she grew up in an environment of dedication to helping others. Both of her parents guide pilgrims, so a taste for extraordinary living probably runs in the family.
