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Piri-reis
He is the first admiral of the Ottoman Empire, who compiled a map of the world, which was one of the most accurate maps of the time. As many grandees of the Ottoman Empire, Piri was a Greek by origin. He was born in 1465 in the North-West of the country, and, due to his outstanding skills as a fleet commander, his career in the Ottoman fleet was very quick. Piri was in command of war ships, but was an explorer by nature. He compiled the most accurate map of the Mediterranean Sea and its coast. Researchers suppose, that Piri planned a trip to America, which was little known at that time (1515). The Turkish admiral charted it on his world map, as well as the way to an unknown continent. And, a riddle for the amateurs of mysteries and history: Piri charted in his map … Antarctica! The continent was discovered three centuries (!!!) after the death of the admiral.
Salah-reis
As many other Turkish admirals, Salah-reis started his career as a pirate. However, it was a common practice at that time. It is enough to remember that English admiral Drake was a pirate, and he earned the favor of the queen later. So, let's go back to Salah-reis. After several years of piracy, he got a ship from the sultan and a patent to fight with the enemies of the Ottoman Empire. Salah-reis made it in 1529, when a part of the Turkish fleet under his command defeated the Spanish flotilla. Later Salah-reis participated in the Battle of Preveza, where Ottomans defeated the allied fleet of the European countries. In addition, he annexed the territory of modern Morocco to the Ottoman Empire, and won the title of pasha and sultan's governor.
Hobart-pasha
This Turkish admiral was an Englishman by origin. Born in Britain, he was in the command of a ship during the Crimea War (Turkey, France, and Britain against Russia) and got the title of pasha for his services to the Ottoman Empire. His life is worth of an adventure novel. When young, Hobart served on English ships, that used to catch slave-traders, then learned Turkish, and became Hobart-pasha. During the Civil War in the USA, Hobart-pasha fought with the Southerners. Serving the Ottoman Empire, he suppressed a rebellion on Crete (later Crete went under the jurisdiction of Britain), and improved the war-making capacity of the Turkish fleet. Each time, when Hobart used to become the Ottoman admiral, he was excluded from the list of British admirals, and vice versa. Hobart became the first Christian, who got the title of admiral and marshal of the Ottoman Empire.
