2024 Turkey: The Call To Prayer

Perhaps the most noticeable sign that one is in a country which by passing appearance is a typically Western one but is in fact Muslim is the adhan, or call to prayer.

(For the sake of clarity, I am no expert.  More general information here.)

The Adhan is sounded five times a day, both to call Muslims to prayer and to remind they to pray.  Traditionally this call would have been made from the minarets, the tall thin towers that accompany every mosque.  A chanter, the muzzin, would have climbed each tower and made the call.  In modern times, the minarets have loudspeakers in them and a single muzzin chants for the entire mosque.  In some cases the call may even be pre-recorded.

During our travels, the times we heard it varied.  In Istanbul, we only ever heard the 1700 call to prayer.  In a more religious area like Konya, we heard it multiple times (including at 0430, when the minaret was just outside our hotel window).

Below is the call to prayer in the Hippodrome in Istanbul (two videos).  You will note that there is a call and then a response.  In this case the call is from Aya Sofia, which is the "senior" mosque as it is the most important mosque in Istanbul (being the first).  The chanter from the Blue Mosque then responds.

You will also note that people are not just dropping to the ground and praying.  Most people are just carrying with this as part of their normal background experience.  

Run time is 0:31 seconds for the first, 0:14 for the second.