Sarah Fink
- Jan 3, 2021
- 3 min read

Day 119 - Good Morning, Istanbul!

Our flight to Istanbul was a smooth one and the four-hour layover in Lisbon went by quickly. We found it comical how magnetic Lisbon, Portugal is for we ended up there four different times in the last eight weeks! If you ever find yourself debating whether or not to fly Turkish Air, we highly recommend it. The friendly airline's preventative COVID measures were better than any other airline we have flown with and their variety of flight entertainment made the journey fly by. And, bonus, all of our luggage made it to our final destination this time. However, Clint's checked bag had a strong vinegar smell permeating out of it on the baggage carousel! Luckily, it dissipated quickly!

Our Airbnb host kindly met us at 1:30 am to check us in (we've only had 3 out of 20 Airbnb hosts meet us in person mainly due to COVID—most use a self-check-in lockbox). We wished there was a lockbox, so we didn't have to keep her up. She was hasty with showing us around, which was understandable given the hour, but she left me feeling a little unwelcome. Usually, we wouldn't need much guidance, but since this place was more foreign to us, we had a few more questions. The apartment is very stylish, spacious and we will enjoy the panoramic views during our two-week stay. We were finally were ready for bed at 4 am, less than three hours before we'd be awakened by Istanbul's alarm clock.

The Airbnb reviews clearly warned us that a minaret stands 20 feet from one of the bedroom windows and it will blast the Islamic call to prayer bright and early every morning. Well, Austin ended up being the lucky winner of getting the most up close and personal experience of this Islamic ritual. In every place we stay, the kids alternate who gets the first pick of bed (if they share a room) and bedroom (if they each get their own). Totally by chance, it always falls on Kate to get the first pick when they have an Airbnb with their own room. So far, Austin has been a good sport about it though it doesn't really matter which side of the apartment you sleep on here because you will hear the call to prayer!! Waking up to it was really cool, but it definitely was a quick reminder that we were far from home! It will be very interesting to learn more about Islam and Turkish culture.

Welcome to Turkey, Austin! It's 4 hours before your normal wake up time!

You can almost reach out and touch this minaret outside of Austin's window.

FUN FACT: The call to prayer (ezan) is heard over loudspeakers from minarets scattered around the city six times a day. Each tower has a different muezzin, a man who calls the Muslims to prayer, so the chants that echo across the skyline vary in melody. A muezzin is selected for his good character and clear, loud voice. The exact time of the ezan changes from day to day and from place to place, according to longitude and latitude, sunrise and sunset and the geographical relationship to Mecca. The first prayer of the day has the added line, "Prayer is better than sleep."

Islamic Prayer Times in Istanbul Today

6:50 am

8:29 am

1:07 pm

3:28 pm

5:46 pm

7:19 pm

This prayer timetable allows spirituality to be present throughout the entire day and coincides with the physical needs of nourishment. The morning prayer coincides with breakfast, the noon prayer with lunch, mid-afternoon with tea, the sunset prayer falls around dinner time and the last prayer corresponds with a late snack.

The Daily Prayer Translated in English

God is Great! God is Great! God is Great! God is Great!

I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.

Hurry to the prayer. Hurry to the prayer.

Hurry to salvation. Hurry to salvation.

God is Great! God is Great!

There is no god except the One God.