Wake Up Call

Some people rely on the buzz of an alarm clock to rise from their nightly slumber.  Others depend on barn yard animals, birds, or other creatures from Mother Nature.  Many go so far as to have someone call them personally to get their butts out of their warm bed.

In Istanbul, there is a completely different approach to this daily awakening.  The wailing sounds of the Muslim call to prayer woke us before sunrise on our first morning in the city of a thousand minarets, after arriving late the previous night.  From our apartment alone, we counted at least a dozen of the mysterious, brooding and musical chants calling their faithful to start their day.  It was simply surreal.  The voices were of different volumes and tenors and dare I say, competing with one another?  Collectively it made for an intriguing way to begin our stay in this 3,000 year old city with about the same number of mosques.

   

As we had already traveled through Bosnia & Herzegovina, our first Muslim country, we felt somewhat experienced on the 5 times a day call to prayer.  We were not, however, prepared for the approximately 3,000 mosques, serving the needs of 17 million or so people that live in Istanbul.  During each day, we would hear the call to prayer and were always intrigued by it.  The morning prayer (just before sunrise) has an extra layer of mystery as it is still dark and oh so quiet.  Unforgettable.

The crow of the rooster wasn’t needed, nor was the nasty buzzing of an alarm clock.  In Istanbul the predawn call of the Muslim faithful was all we needed to wake to the new day.  A great reminder that life is good!