I mention the mosque because a couple of nights ago, I was on the couch with my LC and the last evening's call to prayer started. I looked at him and said "I think that's a real guy singing that". He started laughing; I honestly thought it was a recording for the first two days here. Nick explained that we are in a place that takes religion a bit more seriously than in the states, so, um, yeah, it's probably a real guy singing. Anyway, the guy on this night had a little more vigor in his voice than the other two guys. If I could revise history, my point would have been that the other two guys sounded the same. But it already got out of the gate that I thought it was recorded. 
This is our back yard, and the call to prayer we hear is about a hundred yards out the back, so you can't miss it (which I love, by the way, it is very soothing). As you can see, the back yard isn't really a back yard, it's more like a back sand drift. Our accommodations for the first 90 days here are at the company villa, after which time, we will seek our own place. It probably won't be a villa. These places are huge, the small ones starting at maybe 4,000 square feet. We're in one about that size, with a couple of outbuildings that are separate residences. The sense of space here is enormous. If apartments are nice, I'd like to opt for one of those.
When I was in Istanbul last year, my hostel was within a stone's throw of about 4 (that I could count) large mosques. If minarets were cell phone towers, I would have gotten great reception (they weren't, and I didn't, but that is beside the point). I did the exact same thing, Christianna, where for like 3 days I just assumed that they were all recordings until one evening, the singer was just better than the rest had been. Keep in mind that there were 4 of these guys singing all at once. It was maybe the literal definition of a cacophony. Anyway, after a few days I got to love the sound of it, and it really served as a way to place myself and remember that I was in an incredibly devout place, so no funny business. My current apartment in Portland is in a thicket of churches: Seventh-day Adventists, Greek Orthodox, and a handful of others. Unfortunately, the only benefit I get from that is the occasional invitation to a "dance" and a crazy parking situation on the weekends.
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