As it has already been stated, at the time of Piri Reis, the Ottoman-Tuikish Empire was the dominant power over the Black Sea, the Marmara and the Red Sea, and was fighting for prevalence over the Aegean, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. For such a position the Empire had to have a fleet equipped with all the latest weapons. The State Archives give us some most interesting and rich material concerning these organizations.
What the author of this booklet wanted to show, however, was only some of the characteristic features of a Turkish sailor and scholar, the writer of a marine guide-book and the cartographer of two maps of the world, a man who had taken part in numerous private and state enterprises on various seas.
Close studies of the maps reveal to us the fact that when compared with other contemporary maps these prove to be composed with a most advanced scientific spirit and method. The two maps of Pin complete each other. We are indebted to such valuable guides in the world of scholarship for enlightening us in this most important phase of the geographic discoveries. In any history of the period they must he taken as data of direct information.
The bibliography will show the wealth of publication on these works. The author has always taken intense pleasure in studying this subject on various occasions, and thought it to be her duty to share some of the information with an increasingly larger group of readers.
Piri Reis life and works show not only the great heroic and warlike qualities of the Turks in the XVth and XVIth centuries, but also their contribution to the world of scholarship and civilization. Pin lived in an age when the Turkish culture was fertile in every field. The XVIth century is universally regarded as the Golden Age of the Turkish civilization in history.
Pin was one of those who left great works behind them not only for their own nation but for all the science of world geography, and thus became an important figure for the history of civilization. A nation lives as long as she can produce cultural works through each epoch.
To conclude: the two maps of Piri Reis will not fail to interest the Americans as the oldest maps of their own land. And we Turks will always be proud to have had the author of such works, and will be glad to remember that our ancestors were also interested in the American continent.
[goodbye]apocalipsis[/goodbye]