Minarets are angled to help prayer calls glide over hills
Ottoman architects mastered the physics of sound, positioning towers at precise angles to ensure the human voice could reach every corner of a hilly city.
In the steep, rolling terrain of Istanbul, the call to prayer must overcome significant geographic hurdles. To ensure the sound carries three to five kilometers, Ottoman architects angled loudspeakers fifteen degrees upward. This specific tilt minimizes the muffling effect of urban life, which can swallow twenty decibels of sound.
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