Of course! But this article is from National Geographic - and they want to introduce some intrigue.
Since reading Journey Back to Eden, the Egypt monasteries have taken on a new and fuller meaning.
Monk striking the wooden bell in the Bell Tower. The metal bells are only used on holy days and just before the holy liturgy
A Semandron is used to call the Monks to morning prayer
Too bad the web site does not have an imbeded .wav file :-)
“Since reading Journey Back to Eden, the Egypt monasteries have taken on a new and fuller meaning.”
An Egyptian Coptic girl is traveling to America in August to be married in our parish to her American fiance who is in the process of becoming Orthodox. Her father told him that he couldn’t marry his daughter unless he became Coptic. The fellow told the father that there are no Coptic parishes within 100+ miles. The old fellow said, “OK, Greek Orthodox”! And so it will be. Our parish will be their parish after the wedding
Nothing is more Orthodox than the simansis of the simandron.
If I recall the beat goes like this:
ta-TA-la-nda ta-TA-la-nda ta-TA-la TA-la TA-la-nda