One of the best sounds in Morocco takes places five times a day. Adhan. The call to prayer.

On one particular afternoon while travelling along the caravan route through the desert we made a stop in Er Rachidia to pick up food from a local market when the call to prayer sounded across the desert.  It was at that moment that I realized I was truly in Morocco, in a Muslim country, in Africa.  Surrounded by desert.  People in jelebas. The call audible throughout the quiet village in a language I can only hope to one day understand. It was unbelievably cool. The people stopped their lives and gathered at the mosque for prayers before once again filling the streets and going about their daily lives.

If only I could include audio for the true experience!

In fact, waking up to this sound around 5 a.m. each day was a welcomed alarm.  While staying in the Marrakesh medina my riad was surrounded by mosques and on my last day it felt like the call to prayer went on for about half an hour. Such a great wake-up call so I wouldn’t miss my flight and way to end my Moroccan adventure.

The other sounds I loved so dearly was the Berber music.  I spent a day in the riad just hanging out, cooking and listening to this music.  It’s probably not for everyone, but for me it brings back memories of great friends, atmosphere and memories of the country.  It’s amazing the impact music can have from telling stories of the local people, to bringing back vivid memories of a time or place.