His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday received Jordanian mountaineer Mostafa Salameh and commended his achievements.

On January 16, Salameh registered a new achievement by reaching the South Pole within 38 days.

Salameh spent 50 days in Antarctica during which he crossed 985 kilometres in very cold weather.

King Abdullah said that with persistence and determination, young Jordanians can achieve many things at the local and international levels, commending Salameh’s achievement in reaching the farthest point in the southern hemisphere, becoming the first Arab to do so.

Salameh hoisted the Jordanian flag and the Hashemite banner when he reached the point.

He faced challenges such as low visibility that did not exceed 20 metres due to the snow, fog and cloudy skies.

Salameh, who has successfully made it to the summit of Mount Everest, became one of only 235 people in the world to scale the Seven Summits − the highest mountains on all seven continents − in November 2012 when he climbed to the top of Puncak Jaya in Indonesia.