Adhan

The Adhan is the Muslim ritual Call to Prayer. Adhan is called out by the muezzin in the mosque five times a day, traditionally from a minaret, summoning Muslims for mandatory prayers. As mysterious and beautiful to listen to as it was during the day, the early morning Call to Prayer was, well, early.

The exact time of the Adhan changes from day to day and from place to place, according to longitude and latitude, sunrise and sunset. Fair warning if you are planning a trip to Turkey during the warmer months: the first call is at dawn. I said it was early. Generally, prayer times are dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening and the respectful tourist avoids the Grand Mosques during these times.

The Call, these days, is done from minarets with loud speakers. So early and loud.

We were up here one day, in between the towns of Goreme and Avanos, neither of which you can really see when you are up this high, and when the Call came, we could hear it echoing between the two towns.

 

This is the minaret that was next to the Hot Spring. There wasn't a town nearby, so I'm not exactly sure why there is a need for a mosque, but perhaps the area is very crowded during the Hot Spring season?

Anyway, the mid-afternoon Call came while were were at the Hot Spring, and I recorded it for your listening pleasure.

 

And I'll leave you with one last Respectful Tourist Tidbit: No foot washing in the Istanbul airport. Please. There are separate facilities for ablution.

Hey, in the US, it is more often than one can imagine necessary to post No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service policy signs, so I certainly appreciate having to remind people of their manners.

Comments

[Debbie Hanson]

Love the first photo....it doesn't look real. And as far as the foot washing goes, I'll try to remember not to wash my feet in your sink when I visit. ;)

[Ellen]

I've been mucking around with a photoshop type program. So, it's a real photo, enhanced. I wonder, if like "enhanced breasts," an "enhanced photo" becomes "fake?" Such things I ponder in my spare time ...