I had never visited a primarily Muslim country before I came here. I knew vaguely about the call to prayer but never really though about it. However, on my first night here I woke up hearing a man “singing” and realized (groggily) that it was the call to prayer.
I don’t know much about Islam or the call to prayer, but here is a link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhan In summary, the call to prayer is when a religious dude at the mosque recites a summary of Islam’s core beliefs, letting devotees know that it is time to pray. This happens five times a day, not at exact minutes but during certain ranges of time, like before dusk or during the afternoon. A live religious dude recites each time; it is not a recording.
In most cases, I think they choose the religious dude with the most beautiful voice, which produces a very impressive call to prayer. In practicality, though, I’ve noticed some of the reciters are not great singers. What they don’t mention is that every mosque does its own call to prayer, at slightly different times. In my neighborhood, there are at least 3 mosques within hearing distance, so I hear many, many calls to prayer each day. Still, I always enjoy them, even when its the religious dude who can’t sing. He’s up there trying his best anyway!
Here are some links to videos of calls to prayer:
