The Bunî Pamphlet

Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn Yusuf al-Buni(died 1225) was a well known Sufi and writer on the esoteric value of letters and topics relating to mathematics, sorcery and spirituality, but very little is known about him. Al-Buni lived in Egypt and learned from many eminent Sufi masters of his time. He wrote one of the most famous books of his era, the Shams al-Ma'arif al-Kubra (Sun of the Great Knowledge) which is one of the most widely read medieval treatises on talismans, magic squares and occult practices. This work rivals the Picatrix in importance. This book was later banned by orthodox Muslims as heretical, but continues to be read and studied.

His another infamous work is called Bunî Risalesi(the Bunî Pamphlet), which is kept hidden from public and academic knowledge because of its contents. It is told that the 1208 page Bûni Pamphlet explains how to summon and dominate a djinn or a demon with charms and spells, the preparations of these spells and charms are also included with every detail. Only a few pages of the manuscript have leaked in 800 years and the very few people, which had the chance to see the original manuscript, has never(or according to some rumors could never) spoke about it.

Whereabouts: In an unknown private manuscript collection in Istanbul, according to some rumors this collection is in Beyazit Library.

The Bell of Galata Tower

The Galata Tower — called Christea Turris (the Tower of Christ in Latin) by the Genoese — is a medieval stone tower in the Galata district of Istanbul, Turkey, just to the north of the Golden Horn. One of the city's most striking landmarks, it is a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and affords a panoramic vista of Old Istanbul and its environs.

The tower was built as Christea Turris in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. It was the apex of the fortifications surrounding the Genoese citadel of Galata. The current tower should not be confused with the old Tower of Galata, an original Byzantine tower, named Megalos Pyrgos, which controlled the northern end of the massive sea chain that closed the entrance to the Golden Horn. That tower was on a different site and was largely destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

The upper section of the tower with the conical cap was slightly modified in several restorations during the Ottoman period when it was used as an observation tower for spotting fires.

According to the Seyahatname of Ottoman historian and traveller Evliya Çelebi, in circa 1630-1632, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew as an early aviator using artificial wings for gliding from this tower over the Bosporus to the slopes of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side, nearly six kilometres away. Evliyâ Çelebi also tells of Hezarfen's brother, Lagari Hasan Çelebi, performing the first flight with a rocket in a conical cage filled with gunpowder in 1633.

Starting from 1717 the Ottomans began to use the tower for spotting fires in the city. There was a bell on the tower that the firemen used to rang in sight of a fire. In 1794, during the reign of Sultan Selim III, the roof of the tower made of lead and wood and the stairs were severely damaged by a fire. Another fire damaged the building in 1831, upon which a new restoration work took place. In 1875, during a storm, the conic roof on the top of the building was destroyed. The tower remained without this conic roof for the rest of the Ottoman period.

Many years later, in 1965-1967, during the Turkish Republic, the original conical cap was restored. During this final restoration in the 1960s, the wooden interior of the tower was replaced by a concrete structure and it was commercialized and opened to the public. The Bell of the Tower has also been moved to Istanbul Archeological Museums for exhibition.

Whereabouts: Istanbul Archeological Museums

The Staff of Moses

According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, the staff used by Moses was by his side throughout important milestones in the narrative. Moses led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt and parted the Red Sea using his staff. Amongst these milestone events or 'miracles of the exodus' the bible describes that the staff was used to part the red sea, produce water from a rock, invoke a plague on the Egyptians, and the staff could even transform itself into a snake.

Till this day rumour has it that the staff's real location is said to be kept secret to stop treasure hunters and onlookers flocking to the area. There are many speculations about what has happened to Moses's staff.

The Midrash (a homiletic method of biblical exegesis) states that the staff was passed down from generation to generation and was in the possession of the Judean kings until the First Temple was destroyed. It is unknown what became of the staff after the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were exiled from their land.

However, according to the identifying document at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Moses's staff is on display today at the Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Turkey. Furthermore, the Topkapi Palace holds holy relics such as the Prophet Muhammad's footprint, Prophet Muhammad's bow, sword and even his tooth can be seen at the museum. Topkapı Palace was officaiy made a museum in 1924, and the holy relics were placed on public view on 31 August 1962. It is said that Sultan Selim I (1512–1520) brought the holy relics to Topkapi Palace after conquering Egypt in 1517. These holy relics where used every year for ceremonial purposes on the fifteenth day of the month of Ramazan several of the items were kissed by the Sultan, his vezirs and dignitaries. This was believed to bring about the victory of good and the defeat of evil, during the reign of Sultan Selim.

Whereabouts: Topkapi Palace

Wings of Hezarfen

Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi was a legendary Ottoman of 17th-century Istanbul, purported to have achieved sustained unpowered flight. The 17th century writings of Evliyâ Çelebi relate this story of Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi, circa 1630-1632:

"First he practiced by flying over the pulpit of Okmeydani eight or nine times with eagle wings, using the force of the wind. Then, as Sultan Murad Khan (Murad IV) was watching from the Sinan Pasha mansion at Sarayburnu, he flew from the very top of the Galata Tower and landed in the Doğancılar square in Üsküdar, with the help of the south-west wind. Then Murad Khan granted him a sack of golden coins, and said: 'This is a scary man. He is capable of doing anything he wishes. It is not right to keep such people,' and thus sent him to Algeria on exile. He died there".
—Evliyâ Çelebi

The title "Hezârfen", given by Evliyâ Çelebi to Ahmed Çelebi, means "a thousand sciences".

In 1648 John Wilkins cites Busbecq, the Austrian ambassador to Istanbul 1554-1562, as recording that "a Turk in Constantinople" attempted to fly. However, if accurate, this citation refers to an event nearly a century prior to the exploits reported by Evliyâ Çelebi.

Evliyâ Çelebi's account of the exploits of Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi is only three sentences long (of a ten volume work), but the story has great currency in Turkey. Other than Evliyâ Çelebi's report, there are no other contemporary references to the events.

Whereabouts: Unknown

Helmet of Orhan I

Orhan I, was the second Bey, or chief, of the nascent Ottoman Empire (then known as the Osmanli principality) from 1324 to 1361. He was the son of Osman I, and his mother was Mal Hatun, daughter of Abdulaziz Bey.

In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering most of northwestern Anatolia. The majority of these areas were under Byzantine rule and he won the first battle, the Battle of Pelekanon, against the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos. Orhan also occupied the lands of Karesi Principality ruled by a Turkish Emir and of Ankara which was controlled by religious fraternity-guilds called Ahis.

During the last years of the civil war in the Byzantine Empire, John VI Cantacuzene induced Orhan to marry Theodora, daughter of Cantacuzene, in order to support him in his aim to become the ruling Emperor, usurping Emperor John V Palaeologus.

In 1354 Orhan's son, Suleyman Pasha (Süleyman Paşa), occupied Gallipoli and gave the Ottoman state a bridgehead into mainland Europe.

Whereabouts: Harbiye Military Museum

Zulfiqar

Zulfiqar is the sword of the Islamic leader Ali. In Arabic the name is commonly transliterated as Dhu al-Fiqar, Thulfeqar, Dhulfiqar, Zoulfikar etc. The scimitar is one of the oldest and best known symbols of Islam, and is particularly important to Shī'ah, Alevi, Alawis, and Sufi.

By some accounts, Muhammad presented Zulfiqar to a young Ali at the Battle of Uhud. During the battle, Ali struck one of the fiercest adversaries, breaking both his helmet and his shield. Imām Husayn ibn Ali used Zulfiqar in the Battle of Karbala, and as a result it is seen by Shi'a Muslims as a symbol of honor and martyrdom. A few conflicting images of the sword exist: some show two parallel blades to emphasize its mystical abilities and speed, while others portray a more traditionally shaped scimitar, and others depict a split, V-shaped blade. Shia Muslims, who consider Ali the rightful successor to Muhammad, consider the sword to be exceptional because its bearers were both Muhammad and Ali, who was highly regarded among Muslims and non-Muslims.

By most historical accounts, Ali used the sword at the Battle of the Trench to cut a fierce Meccan opponent and his shield in two halves. The opponent was Amr ibn Abdawad, whose strength was often compared to that of a thousand men. No one had dared to fight him except Ali, who killed him with one powerful blow. Though Amr wore strong armor and carried powerful weapons, he is said to have been no match to Ali and his sword.

According to the Twelver Shia, Zulfiqar is currently in the possession of Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, as part of his collection called al-Jafr. Different rumors claim that the sword resides in the Topkapi Palace with the other relics of caliph.

Whereabouts: Unknown

Aviator Goggles of Ataturk

"The future is in the sky."

Whereabouts: Pera Palace