Call to prayer

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is that Muslims must perform salah, which are the daily Islamic prayers. Here in Saudi Arabia, the five daily prayers are very well integrated into the daily routine. Every day, we hear the adhan, which is the call to prayer. The first is performed at dawn (4 or 5am), then around noon, then the afternoon (3:30pm), sunset (7pm), and evening (8:30pm). Luckily, I have never heard the dawn prayer, but for the most part, we hear it wherever we go: at Dar Al-Hekma College, our hotel room, and even the mall. Here is one video I took from my hotel room window in which you can hear the call to prayer in the background (sorry it’s not more scenic).

During the day, prayer time doesn’t affect us much – we just keep on working – but in the evening, we have had to shift our dinner schedule until after the last prayer. Typically, restaurants and stores close during prayer time (or at least don’t serve food), so you have to plan your schedule accordingly. Once we were out to dinner and had already sat down before the last prayer. Luckily we got our food in time, but during the last prayer, no waiters came around and the restaurant drew the blinds, turned off the TVs, and dimmed the lights. Here is another video I took at the mall when the evening call to prayer began and you can see the food court stores start to close down (quick cameo from Eve at the end).

After being here for 11 days, the call to prayer is something we’re used to, but I hope it offers our readers a window into Saudi Arabian life!