Seven Years On- The Msa7arati

August 24, 2009 at 10:43 am · Filed under Amman, Roba

Last night I jumped out of bed in my sleep at around 2:30 AM after hearing really loud booming. In my state of sleep, my body went on alert-mode, wondering if the sky collapsed.

A few seconds later, I realize that for the seventh Ramadan we live through in Amman, I still cannot get used to the Msa7arati, a man whose sole job is to wake people up so that they have their prior-to-fasting meals.

Having been writing in this space for so long now, you can read my slightly romanticized thoughts in 2004 towards the then mysterious msa7arati.

Every night during Jordan’s Ramadan at around 2:30 AM, I wake up feeling like a giant is about to step on me, thanks to the “Boom! Boom! Boom!” of the msa7arati’s set of drums. It’s irritating of course, for several reasons. I wake up panicked for one thing, and it takes me a while to figure out that I am not about to be squished. It also takes me a couple of hours to be able to go back to sleep, and I still have to wake up at 7 every day.
Yet, my irritation does not equal my fascination with the mystifying “msa7arati”. Every night after his booming wakes me up, I scuttle out of bed, scramble for my glasses, and dash to the window, only to find that booming has already drifted away, taking the “msa7arati” with it. I run to another window, but his booming is also trailing off. It’s almost as if he moves around in a paranormal device that is much too fast for sleepy feet.
And so, this hide-and-seek game between me and the “msa7arati” has been going on since last year’s Ramadan.
Until last night. Last night, I scuttled out of bed fast enough, scrambled for my glasses swiftly, and dashed to the window in a flash.
I finally got a glimpse of the “msa7arati”.
Unfortunately, he looks nothing like what I imagined him to look. Here’s a quick sketch of what my over-active Disney-run imagination thought he would look like (never mind my drawing, I want to go nap to make up the lost sleep):

Funny reading that. Before then, I had no idea that such a person exists. Seven Ramadans on, and the msa7arati seriously annoys me. I think the world has reached the stage where alarm clocks can be set.

Plus, who will have s7oor at 2:30?






  • Muhammad

    Ok here is the thing, the msa7arati should NEVER use a big drum like that, he freaks the heck out of me every night, even though I usually won’t be sleeping at this time, yet the extreme noise he makes is ************… OMG!
    In egypt, they use “tabla”, that small thing, even smaller than the one u know, and the stick is usually made of leather. I used to love everything about msa7arati, but not anymore!

  • http://www.ananaddoush.blogspot.com Naddoush

    Haha – little drummerboy.
    I have never heard of such a person – interesting.
    He definitely doesn’t come by my house, or maybe I am just a heavy sleeper? The solution – move to Dahiet Al Rashid :-)

  • hb

    i remember while i was in Jordan i used to wake up to a Msa7arati drumming as well .. the drumming was sort of creepy and he had a scary voice .. yammaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

  • http://www.kinziblogs.wordpress.com kinzi

    Oh, these guys used to make me crazy, especially when they would come to my door asking for money for the service of waking me, a non-fasting Christian.

    BUT, I must say, in these hot long days it is imperative to wake to drink and eat before sunrise. If his noisy banging and weird chanting will keep my neighbors from sleeping through and fainting from dehydration, it is worth it.

    S7oor at 2:30? Isn’t the wake-up for the women who need to prepare it?

  • http://www.american-in-jordan.com Dave

    I heard about this guy before I moved to Jordan. I was intrigued and curious, but in all my years there (and in Turkey), I’ve never been woken up by the Msa7arati. I feel lucky and disappointed all at the same time.

  • http://www.alimetalhead.blogspot.com Ali

    A annoying Msa7arati wakes everyone up in my area too, I have organized myself so i stay awake and not get woken up by him, And every time he passes i go out on the balcony and watch him, And i saw that people actually wake up by his voice, So i guess he’s doing his job perfectly.

    I heard that some of the Msa7araties use cars to move between areas, Weird!

    I was able to snap a picture of the Msa7arati rooming our area and have a chat with him and i was surprised that he is Egyptian and wearing modern clothes.

  • http://meshx86.wordpress.com Mesh

    While i never saw / heard a Msa7arati voice in Amman, i recall them in Nablus..

    Actually my brother’s friend used to use “School Scouts Drums” to make a noise, it was actually more harmonic than using “A Tanakeh Msadyeh” by others..

    Another Cool Options in Nablus is that you actually don’t need the Msa7arati, the “United Athan” Option in Nablus reads holy Quran and well known Ad3eya before The S7oor’s Athan for like 20 or 30 minutes in a very relaxing ,waqary way beginning with:
    سبحان فالق الإصباح..

    echo’s deeply inside me,
    This is a tradition in Nablus since along ago, before inventing the speakers.

  • Noura

    Ours doesn’t use a drum, he uses an empty big plastic water container and his hands, but usually passes around 4:00am..

  • http://www.black-iris.com Naseem Tarawnah

    Roba (and everyone else who commented)….what areas do you live in? i’d like to meet one of these guys for a story

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Nas, I live in Shmeisani. They are definitely in Shmeisani every year.

  • Fadia H

    The Boom Boom drums of al mousaharati woke me up on the floor for two nights in a row at around 3:00am, the sound was too loud, at first I thought there’s a war going on or something, nevertheless the weird look on my face trying to figure out what was that Boom Boom sound coming from, till I realised that it’s almousaharati! I looked out through the windows and the balcony trying to find him but with no luck… huff! However, been woken up by al mousaharati made it feel the same atmosphere of bab elhara serial =) yabayeee 2adaish i’m gona miss almousaharati after ramadan =D

  • Baelee

    Roba, I found your site by accident and am now addicted to your wonderful insanity!!! I love your stories, don’t ever lose your crazy sense of humor, it’s awesome. My fav stories so far are the shoes and the drum man.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Baelee, thanks man! :)

  • Baelee

    You’re welcome, Roba, and THANK YOU for making me smile!!