The carnival in the Swiss city of Basel began on Monday morning at 4 am (0300 GMT) with a concert of pipes and drums. In the completely darkened and silent city, the call “Morgestraich: Forward, March!” sounded at exactly the top of the hour as the starting signal for the “three crazy days” as carnival time is known in German-speaking countries. Around 20,000 revellers will be out and about in the city until Wednesday morning, dressed up in elaborate costumes. The festival, which always takes place a week after the Christian holiday Rose Monday, is considered the most important Protestant carn…