Ambience/ASMR: Ottoman Courtyard Garden & Fountain, 18th Century Syria, 5 Hours

For Christina/Jill.

List of Sounds:
the flowing, trickling, rippling, and cascading of the courtyard fountain, central in placement and importance, representing both symbolically and practically what it means to "come home": refreshment, sustenance, purification, welcoming oasis
the commingled birdsong of wild finches, sparrows, and larks with the delicate trilling of domestic canaries, held under eaves and arcades in small, bent-wood cages to be, for both family and guest, a vivid, canorous delight
the sporadic passing-by of goats and sheep, known not just by their calls but by the charmingly random melody of their bells; the shuffling of much-laden donkeys carrying saddlebags or wagons
vendors pushing handcarts through the streets and calling out their wares, their utilitarian insistence decorated still with the subtle ornamentation of almost-song
from the Christian quarter, the chiming of church-bells on the hour
the adhan (Muslim call to prayer) resonating from the minaret of the nearest mosque, summoning the faithful to their Zuhr (midday) and Asr (afternoon) prayers
footsteps through colonnaded wooden walkways and over marble tile, timber and stone both buffed to luster with the tread of successive generations
women chatting and laughing through the mirth-lightened chores of washing clothing, rinsing vegetables, and scrubbing courtyard tiles, domestic life centered thus around the fountain, ceaselessly drawn from and ceaselessly replenished
children giggling, playing, reveling in warm sun and spirited splashes of cool water
occasionally, briefly, the strumming of an oud, woken into voice for practice or contemplation rather than the entertaining of a crowd, its quiet, lilting air just-barely heard drifting through the open latticework of a window to the courtyard below
the rapping of a traditional Aleppan door-knocker (a small, pendulous hand) that both announces and warns of a visitor, allowing women the necessary moment to cover their heads
the intermittent bubble and gurgle of a water-pipe, smoked contentedly from a shady corner of the courtyard by the young man of the house and his circle of friends, a coterie gathered today for the leisurely playing of backgammon
the gentle click of dice and stone discs against a hand-hewn, hand-painted, much-loved backgammon board

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Question: What is an ambience video?

Answer: Pleasant, soothing background images & sound for relaxation, study, play, or work; gently occupies an anxious or unfocused mind without causing unwanted distraction; creates a comfortable, inviting atmosphere; personalizes sparse, colorless, or impersonal environments; enlivens spaces where we live or work alone; fills silence with more subtlety, ease, and warmth than music or TV; offers softly dynamic "rainbow noise" instead of monotonous white noise; enhances interior design & personal style by turning screens/screensavers into live photographic displays.

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