The King is Coming

Something was different when we woke up this morning. We’d both slept well, and struggled for a minute as we gathered ourselves for breakfast to put our finger on it. It was Sunday, and we enjoyed pancakes with Vermont maple syrup my parents had brought in December, and that soon supplanted any serious investigation. At noon, it became clear. The sound of muezzin calling people to prayer echoed far off in the medina, but the muezzin at our mosque next door was silent, and he’d been silent at 5am as well. We asked Hamoud what was going on and get went off in search of answers. A short while later he returned.

“They’re working on the mosque,” he said. In two weeks time the King is coming to pray in the mosque and they’re repairing it. It will be closed until them. As the day wore on, the silence felt even more odd. Our mosque has several muezzin, and we recognize them each by voice, if not sight. We’re so close to the mosque that we can hear the electronic hum as he turns on the microphone. We can hear him clear his throat as he prepares to speak. We can hear him sniffle or stifle a sneeze when he’s got a cold. And now radio silence. We’re so focused on our own muezzin, that we now can appreciate the tapestry of sound that floats our way from around the medina. And what else will the next two weeks bring as the King’s visit is anticipated?