RIYADH, 27 March 2004 — A Saudi has died at the purported age of 130 after an exemplary life, a newspaper reported yesterday. Al-Watan said the man spent his life eating “only the fruit of his labor” and making the pilgrimage to Makkah three times on foot. Zafer ibn Yehya Al-Asmari died in Ballasmar in southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, leaving behind some 60 grandchildren, the paper said. His son Abdullah told the paper that Asmari never wore shoes and never traveled by car except once when he was once taken to hospital. Asmari spent a lifetime eating only what he grew or raised and always warned his children to avoid chemicals, the son said. He was also “known for his boldness and daring in confronting wild animals, once killing a tiger.”
