Prayers – Part III

A while ago there was a question about prayer or “salat” times. Prayer times are determined by the position of the Sun. As the day lengthens or shortens the times gradually change. Times change only about 1 min/day, but in the time I've been in Riyadh now, which is roughly 30 days, the first prayer call has gradually shifted by 30 minutes. So now, instead of a 4.15AM wake up call, we get a free wake up call at around 3.45AM. That’s when the mosque right on the other side of the compound wall starts the call. Lately, the mosque has also started broadcasting the first prayer of the day to the entire neighborhood. Hubby tells me they’ve not done that before as long as he’s been here.

In case one of you is now feeling an urge to download a prayer application for the purpose of using it in Riyadh, I highly recommend iPray. Since the position of the Sun determines the prayer times, it naturally varies by your geographic location. iPray let’s you set your location as Riyadh, as opposed to some other apps that only recognize Mecca… Not very useful for someone in Riyadh if the prayer times are off by 15 minutes. Remember, all shops and restaurants close during the prayers and you don’t want to get to the cash register one minute after they’ve closed, but a few minutes before they close. Oh and by the way, uncle Steve at Apple still owes me 99 cents for that useless app that only gives Mecca prayer times.