The muezzin is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer (ṣalāt) five times a day at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin plays an important role in ensuring an accurate prayer schedule for the Muslim community.
Ottoman-era miniature depicting Bilal ibn Rabah (c. 580–640 CE), the first muezzin in the Islamic tradition, who is seen standing on top of the Kaaba while reciting the adhan.
A United States Navy muezzin performing the adhan indoor with a microphone.
A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (adhan) from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can have a variety of forms, from thick, squat towers to soaring, pencil-thin spires.
Minaret at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
An orientalist depiction of the muezzin's call to prayer from the balcony of a minaret, 1878. Usually only one muezzin chants the azan from the balcony, back straight and not leaning on the railing.
Inside the stairway of a minaret in Mostar
Inside the Giralda minaret in Seville, which has ascending ramps instead of stairs