The Call to Prayer in Medieval Cairo
Sound, Society and Spirituality in the Mamluk Era

About this book:

Step into the vibrant, clamorous heart of Mamluk Cairo, where the *adhan*—the Islamic call to prayer—was far more than a religious ritual. It was the invisible architecture of daily life, a sonic thread stitching together the sultan’s palaces, the scholar’s madrasa, the merchant’s stall, and the family home. In this groundbreaking study, the streets come alive with the clip-clop of donkeys, the hammers of builders, the chatter of markets, and, rising above it all, the interlocking voices of *mu’adhdhins* echoing from hundreds of minarets. Discover how sound dictated the rhythm of a metropolis, serving as a divine clock, a royal proclamation, and a spiritual anchor in one of history’s most dazzling Islamic capitals.

Through a masterful blend of architectural acoustics, social history, and sensory anthropology, this book reveals the *adhan* as a sophisticated instrument of urban design and power. Explore the rigorous training and surprising prestige of the callers, the acoustic genius of minarets built to project the human voice across labyrinthine alleyways, and the call’s profound role in everything from Sufi mysticism and marketplace commerce to inter-religious dynamics and gendered spaces. You will hear the city anew: in the pre-dawn hush of *fajr*, the midday clamor of *dhuhr*, and the solemn night embrace of *isha*.

*The Call to Prayer in Medieval Cairo* recovers a lost soundscape to illuminate the very soul of a civilization. It invites you to listen to the past not as silence, but as a complex symphony where faith, politics, and community resonated in perfect harmony. For anyone fascinated by the sensory history of cities, the culture of the Mamluks, or the enduring power of the human voice to shape space and spirit, this is an essential, unforgettable journey.