I had been in Istanbul for 6 hours, arriving in the morning after a long flight from Singapore.

It had not long passed 1pm and I had only just been granted access to my room. I was pottering about after a shower thinking to myself how lucky I was to be in such a fascinating part of the world, and enjoying the unique decor in front of me.

And then I heard something that stopped me in my tracks.

A voice over a loudspeaker.

The ezan.

The Muslim call to prayer.

Allahu Ekber
Eşhedû en lâ ilâhe illallah
Eşhedû enne Muhammeden resulullah
Hayya ale-salah
Hayya alel-felah
Allahu Ekber
Lâ ilahe illallah

It lasted, I listened, and when it ended I reflected.

Hearing the ezan truly cemented me in a location where aurally I never been before. Indeed Istanbul so far had provided a number of sights and sounds which had made me smile, made me laugh and occasionally gasp, but the call to prayer was the icing on the cake.

I was to hear the ezan many more times during my time in Istanbul, including in the middle of the night, awoken from the dead of sleep, instantly oriented and not at all annoyed.

And whilst, like a gentle hand at the small of the back, it continued to provide a reminder of circumstance, the first time will linger forever, echoing pleasantly through my memories of Istanbul.