Chapter V. The pin

Istanbul is thought by many to be the ancient city of Constantinople, and even Robert himself believed it, but he soon discovered that this was not entirely accurate; When he began his search for Islamic Sufism, he discovered that Constantinople, the last and greatest city of the Roman Empire, built-in 330 AD as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), was a small part of Istanbul, now called Al-Fatih Region, after Muhammad ِAl-Fatih, the Ottoman commander who conquered it and founded Istanbul, the capital of his empire.

Sultan Ahmed Square and Hagia Sophia Cathedral are located on top of a hill overlooking the Golden Horn, a branch of the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe from Asia.

Over the course of hundreds of years, the sultans of the Ottoman Empire tried to control it, but its impenetrable walls prevented that until in 1453 they were able to enter it under the leadership of Muhammad Al-Fatih.

The prophet of Muslims gave promises of this as well, telling them a thousand years ago, that Constantinople would be conquered by the Muslims. At the time, this was madness, no less than his story with Al-Buraq.

But Robert no longer sees this prophet as a madman or a liar, not at least in everything.

He came out of the café, walked in the park north, towards the back door, took him out right in front of the Golden Horn, walked alongside him, until he reached the port of Eminonu, took a ferry, crossed the Bosphorus Strait, towards the Asian part of Istanbul, accompanied by gulls throughout the journey, asking for bread crumbs that people threw at them.

Some gulls landed on the boat’s fence next to him, some flew right over his head, a spectacle of chaos and mastering, a voyage that takes no more than 20 minutes, but makes you feel the greatness of the place, that striking in the depths of history.

Far in front of him on the other side appears the Çamlıca Hill, the highest point in Istanbul, from which one can see a natural panoramic view of the entire city, the entire Strait of Bosphorus from its beginning in the Black Sea to its end in the Sea of Marmara, passing the famous Rumeli Fortress, which cut off any army that tried to aid Constantinople before its fall.

To its left is the square of the famous Taksim Tower on its hill, and to its right is the Topkapi Palace on the highest hill, standing in full haughtiness, next to Hagia Sophia Cathedral, the greatest building of its time, which tells the story of tension that still exists between Turkey and the Vatican.

The Ottomans turned it into a mosque, claiming that Mohmmad Al-Fatih had bought it from the people of the city, and after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the secular took control of Turkey, it was turned into a museum. Years after the Islamic Justice and Development Party won the elections, it was decided to convert it back into a mosque amid opposition from the Vatican.

Minutes later the ferry went out of the Golden Horn, to the main Strait of the Bosphorus, on the right the Sea of Marmara, from where the last Emperors of Constantinople waited for the Pope’s army from Europe to turn around without them and without Mohmmad Al-Fatih, an army that had abandoned them and never came.

Sheikh Ruslan waits for him at the port of Uskudar in the Asian part, where he heads.

Sat in a chair, thinking: I am not lost, I am not crazy, he is deceiving us, he has been deceiving us for thousands of years. I will get him, and I will get this demon.

He took a pin out of his pocket, pricked his finger with it, and felt the pain, “remember, Robert, you have seen him before, remember, this may be the line between your success in taking revenge or your failure.

-More! more pain! Feel it!

He closed his eyes, and said to himself:

– No, it is not the right timing, not in the midst of this crowd of people, we have another meeting after returning to the hotel, we will see which of us is hardheaded and more stubborn.”