One aspect of my time in Mauritania that was so foreign to me when I first arrived but now a happy fixture of my day is the call to prayer.
In Islam, the call to prayer (Adhan) is recited from mosques 5 times a day. The first prayer is early morning before sunrise and called the Fajr. The second prayer is called Zuhr and happens usually in the early-mid afternoon. Asr is the 3rd prayer that is usually in the late afternoon. Maghrib is the 4th prayer that begins at sunset to dusk. Isha is the 5th and final prayer and begins after the sun has fully set.
There isn’t a strict timeline each mosque must adhere to so long as they are within the general parameters of the prayer guidance. As such, it is common to hear the various calls to prayer occurring several minutes apart from each other from various mosques.
It wasn’t until a few new families arrived to post over the last year and called attention to the ever prevalent call to prayer that I realized how second nature it had become to me. Although not a practitioner of Islam myself, whenever I have left Mauritania I find myself missing the call to prayer as it has become a routine fixture in my day to day life, as you can hear it from anywhere in Nouakchott. As someone that never wears a watch, it is a great way to know what time it is. In my neighborhood alone, I could probably throw a rock and hit 4 different mosques from my rooftop, which is true for just about anyone living in the city. Mosques with megaphones are EVERYWHERE, so it’s basically impossible to miss it.
Depending on the mosque, it can also be quite beautiful. The person that leads a call to prayer is called a muezzin, and they are typically chosen for their nice lyrical voices, and the call itself is widely considered an art form. When we were in Turkey over the winter break earlier this year, the call to prayer near the giant Blue Mosque was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard. Our guide at the time mentioned that there is an annual competition in Turkey to find the best muezzin in the country, and based on how beautiful the various calls to prayer there are, competition must be fierce. Unfortunately in Mauritania, the quality of the call to prayer varies drastically, from pleasant sounding to a droning person that might have come out of Orwell’s 1984. They have a little catching up to do if they want to match the quality in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or Egypt, where the most famous muezzins come from.
The call to prayer is definitely one of those things that lets you know you aren’t home anymore, but it’s a fixture I will definitely miss when I depart Mauritania. It’s interesting how something that seemed so exotic and foreign when I first arrived has now become something of an afterthought. I guess that’s the difference between just visiting a country and actually living there, and ultimately why I love being in the Foreign Service. Being a tourist is fun, but being able to ingrain yourself in a unique society is an unparalleled experience that I am grateful for. -Nick
