The mosques - Tirana city guide

Albania is a secular state, and therefore does not have an official religion. Albanians are known to be highly tolerant towards the religions of others, and therefore believers of various faiths peacefully coexist in the country.

Arabs who raided parts of the region in the past introduced their religion to the area and gradually, Islam grew in the country and Albania became one of the two countries in Europe that has a Muslim majority. I stayed in a major Muslim neighbourhood and fortunately was able to capture the moment of one of their five daily prayers.

The call to prayer ringing from the minaret of the mosque echoes in my ear each time I attempt to describe an experience in Tirana. The loudspeakers can be heard as far as 5 km away. They are used to empower the muezzin's voice to transcend a modern city's noises and so dominate this recording.

Recorded by Rafael Diogo as a city sound guide for Cities and Memory - see more at https://citiesandmemory.com/city-sound-guides