Day 139 to Safranbolu Turkey, 126km, 11,499 to date, 446km to go, 1510m up,  407m end. 

A bit of a harder day with a fair bit of climbing, but we have a rest day tomorrow.  Our last rest day before the 4 final riding days to Istanbul.

I’ve made various comments before about the call to prayer from the Mosques - a bit more:

I am a totally non-religious person, so it is odd for me to be commenting on Mosques…  

This morning, although we were camped what I thought was well away from any town, it turns out we were close enough to 5 small towns that all five call to prayer’s were like next door.  The acoustics were excellent, with each call echoing off the nearby hills.  The morning calls happen about 1/2 hour before sunrise, so a very appropriate alarm clock.

I’ve noticed that even the smallest two cow town has a mosque, similar to churches in the Maritimes and all these Mosques function with calls to prayer.  Many very small towns have two or more Mosques.

I did a bit of homework last night whilst in my tent. (If I have any of this wrong, please correct me)  The lyrics of the call to prayer, the Adhan is one of the most lyrical, inspiring prayers for Muslims.  The recited prayer used in the call to prayer is the same for each call except the predawn version also includes the words “Prayer is better than sleep”.

I found out today that many (most?) calls are pre-recorded soundtracks, however in some Mosques, in particular larger Mosques, the call is a “live performance”.  I was told that all the calls one hears in Istanbul are “live performances”.

Some of the calls I have heard are absolutely beautiful, so I searched to see what I could find.  I found the following call/performance to be very exceptional:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oolV-slw_AM

I have been impacted by the lack of tourists coming to/from Turkey, my flight home on the 8th has been canceled, I suspect due to lack of business.  So I am now returning on the 7th, a loss of a tourist day in Istanbul, however I have been a tourist for 5 months and the desire to get home is strong.

I didn’t take any pictures today, so this is the campsite from last night (could be anywhere in BC):