The Adan

Every day, for the past five months, five times a day, I have heard the Adan, the Call to Prayer. It's strange to think that before I came to Morocco, the Adan had never graced my ears. I do, however, remember writing a short story in 7th grade, during which my mom and I browsed a North African market as the call to prayer sounded in the background...a scenario that might be reality when my family comes to Morocco in April! The first time I heard the Adan in the distance (from my first home, where it was much fainter) I ran out onto the balcony as the unfamiliar sound filled my ears. HERE is a video recording of the Adan.

Hassan 2 in Casablanca

The average Moroccan has heard the call to prayer more times than they have eaten a meal, assuming they eat 3 meals a day. (a point raised in this blog post).The Adan is not chanting, not singing, but somewhere in between. When the Adan sounds, the TV is muted, and on some stations, the shows pause all together. Music is turned down, and many people will say 'allah akbar' meaning 'god is great.' I live right across the street from a mosque--my windows sometimes shake depending on how loud the muezzin (the man who says the Adan) speaks. On early mornings, it serves as my alarm clock, jolting me out of sleep. Though I cannot understand the words, sometimes I find that they are stuck in my head during the day. The sounds of the different mosques across the city overlap, almost as if they are calling and responding to one another.

At first, hearing the Adan was a novelty--something I heard that reminded me of the exotic new land I had come to. Eventually, it just became another part of my life--like cats or crazy traffic or djellabas. However, sometimes when I hear the Adan, I think back to hearing it during those first days.  Because just when I feel that nothing else will surprise me, something spontaneous will shake my day up, and I am reminded to retain my sense of wonder for this land around me.