Sufi Zikr Musicians Play Pre-Dawn

Warm tungsten light spills across the faces of musicians seated in a tight circle on a wooden stage in Zielona Góra. Men dressed in white robes and dark head coverings hold small hand drums and a bowed string instrument against their chests. Beads of sweat glisten on foreheads as hands move in rhythm. The low light falls through high windows, casting soft shadows that stretch across the wood grain beneath their feet. Dark shadows fill the background, isolating the performers in a pool of amber glow. Late summer air hangs still, visible only as faint particles dancing in the narrow beams of light falling across the instruments.