Ramadan Begins & The Call to Prayer

In the pre-dawn moments you can hear the strong and steady voice calling the Muslim faithful to start their day with prayer. Thus today began, the first day of the holy month of Ramadan for the Muslim faithful around the world.

Almost 20 years ago (shhh..) when I first learned about Islam and the 5 Pillars of Faith in a Cultural Anthropology class in college, I never conceived that one day I would be living here in the Balkans and seeing the faith lived out. As I do live here I thought that now would be a nice time to feature some of the culture and tradition associated with Ramadan (or Ramazan) here in the Balkans.

Ramadan is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and is a month of fasting, prayer, worship and contemplation. As the timing of the month is according to the lunar calendar, it occurs just a bit earlier each year (by about 11 days). When I first came here Ramadan was in the latter days of November. This year it's the entire month of September. Next year it will begin in August.

Yesterday the stores and pizars, usually quiet on a Sunday, were bustling and full as families set about to purchase provisions in preparation for this month. During the daylight hours the faithful refrain from food and drink, then just after sunset and the Call to Prayer, there is a breaking of the fast called "Iftar." I've never had the privilege to go to an Iftar, but I understand from friends in Kosovo that it's quite a feast and a great time spent with family and friends.

I hope to learn and share more in the coming weeks about how specifically the month is honored here among the Muslim populations of the Balkans. In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you a video I took back in July when I was in Albania. At that time the Call to Prayer rang out at 4:33AM (now in Sept sunrise is about 6:30AM)... I've included most of the prayer except for the beginning that I missed and a little bit in the middle as I got myself out of bed and to the balcony where you could see just the beginnings of sunrise appearing over the mountains.

When I lived in Bosnia for a while I was always fascinated how the Call would start with one voice and then one by one the other voices from other mosques would join in... the melody and harmony of each voice echoing through the valley and off the mountains. It's really a hard thing to describe, but that's my best try.

When there are visitors here to Skopje, there are two places I like to take them in order to really experience the culture when the Call to Prayer goes out. First is into the "women's section" of the Bit Pizar in old town where vendors sell head scarves, handkerchiefs with coins on them (used in dancing oros), traditional wedding outfits and beautiful curtains. It is a moment rich with culture to be in old town in the market surrounded by these handcrafts and then to hear the Call go out.

The second place I like to take visitors is up on Kale which is on a hill that has a great view of Skopje. On one side it overlooks the city center at the base of Mt. Vodno, but then it also has a view of the Old Stone Bridge, the Vardar and the oldest section of town (the charshia or чаршијата). There is a point on the eastern wall of Kale where you can stand and see 9 minarets in various places around that part of the city. Then as the sun sets (always spectacularly, btw) over the mountains west of the city in rays rich in shades of gold, one by one a ring of lights near the top of the mosques' minarets light up as the Call begins. Another moment full of culture and contrast here in this Balkan city.