Elias calling

‘Do you mind if I take off my shirt?’ Elias took another long draw on the water pipe and looked at me. As we reclined in the shadow of his crumbling palace in the medina, the midnight air was still warm and the sound of a nearby celebration scarcely intruded into the sanctuary of the courtyard.

The muezzin had laid on a feast of spicy seafood, a selection of breads and piles of perfectly ripe fruit — dates, figs, melons and grapes. Now we sat under a canopy of orange and banana trees and jasmine flowers. Slowly and without warning, Elias intoned:

Allahu akbar, Allau akbar
Ashadu an la Ilah ila Allah
Ashadu an Mohammed rasul Allah
Haya ala as-sala
Haya ala as-sala.

He was recording the call to prayer on to my mobile phone. Now, whenever it rings or I need an alarm call, I am struck by the mesmerising clarity of his voice. Professionally, he calls four times a week from the minaret at the Great Mosque of Zeitouna — the epicentre of Tunis medina and, founded in the 8th century, the fifth most significant mosque in the Muslim world.