Joys of Tirana 3: A Soundscape of Faith
In which the author attempts to wax poetical on the joy of listening to the church bells and the call to prayer.
In the Balkans—as in so many other places—faith is carried by sound.
Every hour, on the hour, the church bell down the street rings. Even in the middle of the night sometimes, I’ll hear it go. It’s coming from the Orthodox Church in the city center. The church is right next to a few government buildings. Its simple for an Orthodox church, which makes sense: under Communism, all religion was outlawed. So the church is new, and in a more modern style than you’d usually find for a faith known for ostentation.
I hear these bells ringing every day. A reminder: time is passing.
And every day, I hear the muezzin, the call to prayer. “Allahu Akbhar, Allahu Akbar.” I’m a morning person these days, so I hear it all 5 times every day. Actually, I hear it a bit more than that: the majority of Albanians are technically Muslim, and there are more mosques than churches in the city. When the time comes for the call, the voices overlap. Reminding the city: “God is Great, God is Great. There is more to this world than that which is directly before you. Take a moment now, and reach your mind and heart and soul towards the divine.”
None of these faiths came from the Balkans. They were left behind by the retreating waves of empires, detritus collecting in tide pools of history, belief imposed, accepted, or embraced in a new environment. Plague, famine, conquest, war, ideological assault: they survived them all. (Impossibly) both a bit the worse for wear and shiny and new, ready to face the future.
At their worst, these faiths separate and have created terrible tides of death. But at their best, they remind the people of the Balkans: you exist in contact with what has come before you, and what will come after you. Pay attention to time passing. And remember, there is more to this life than what you can see and touch.
I’m curious, dear reader: How is faith part of life where you live? Would you find these sounds annoying, or grounding?
I enjoy hearing the sounds of faith as I travel. It helps center me in my present location and nudges me to think more deeply about the cultures I'm visiting.
“Faith is carried by sound.” What a beautiful sentence, Rebecca!
I’m from Spain and faith is also faith-noisy, less so with every passing year because the constantly ringing bells devalue the houses nearby…
As an agnostic HSP, I find them annoying but if I go back to living in a place where loud faith is an issue, I’ll try to anchor them to my personal beliefs and use them as means of grounding—that’s such a powerful reframing.
P.S. I also loved this sentence: “They were left behind by the retreating waves of empires, detritus collecting in tide pools of history.” You’re a wonderful writer!