April 10, 2007
VIDEO: Enchanting prayer call in Essaouira, Morocco
We had the luxury of spending time in a small, laid-back seaside town in Morocco called Essaouira. We made the trip on a bit of a whim, looking for surf (which we found) and unsure how long we'd stay. We had no accommodations secured at our destination before we departed, a sign of success in my mission to get my wife to relax, be spontaneous, and go with flow. As luck would have it, we really dug the place and stayed for a week.
After a peculiar and eventful 2-hour bus ride from the admittedly sketchy bus station in Marrakech, we meandered and negotiated Essaouira until we found a decent place to stay. Our pension was brightly decorated, affordable, comfortable, and only 2 blocks from the rocky Atlantic shore. Each night, we would go to the roof to soak in the sunset, watch the swallows streak through the corridors above the streets, and listen to the most magnificent prayer call.
I am humbly ignorant of what constitutes a "good" prayer call from the muezzin towers of Muslim mosques. Most of the prayer calls I heard while traveling were an odd cacophony of blaring chant and speaker fuzz, and it wasn't always the most pleasant sound to my ear. But this prayer call that we heard each night in Essaouira was extraordinary! It was beautiful, booming, heartfelt, and powerful. I'd get a soothing sensation in my chest when I heard it. With an audience of only me and sometimes my wife, I'd embarrass myself trying to imitate it as a chanted along with the parts that I knew. It was amazing, and I was glad to capture that rooftop bliss on video one night.
Now back in the US, nearly a year later, I wish I could hear it every night while I watch the sun slip into the sea...
After a peculiar and eventful 2-hour bus ride from the admittedly sketchy bus station in Marrakech, we meandered and negotiated Essaouira until we found a decent place to stay. Our pension was brightly decorated, affordable, comfortable, and only 2 blocks from the rocky Atlantic shore. Each night, we would go to the roof to soak in the sunset, watch the swallows streak through the corridors above the streets, and listen to the most magnificent prayer call.
I am humbly ignorant of what constitutes a "good" prayer call from the muezzin towers of Muslim mosques. Most of the prayer calls I heard while traveling were an odd cacophony of blaring chant and speaker fuzz, and it wasn't always the most pleasant sound to my ear. But this prayer call that we heard each night in Essaouira was extraordinary! It was beautiful, booming, heartfelt, and powerful. I'd get a soothing sensation in my chest when I heard it. With an audience of only me and sometimes my wife, I'd embarrass myself trying to imitate it as a chanted along with the parts that I knew. It was amazing, and I was glad to capture that rooftop bliss on video one night.
Now back in the US, nearly a year later, I wish I could hear it every night while I watch the sun slip into the sea...
Labels: morocco backpacking
