The Admiral’s Ship

Food coloring & acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm, 3.000 Turkish Liras

The Abbasid Empire (762-1258) gave great importance to maritime as well as overland trade, constructing vessels larger than those of its competitor, the Byzantines. Arab traders usually set out from the port of Basra located in today’s Iraq. Calling first at trading centers in India, they sailed on to China. The commanders of these ships were called "emiru'l-bahr," a word that passed into Western languages as "admiral".

Inspired by a 20th-century Turkish tile

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Buraq

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The Lion Genie