_ 230 _ three galleys, and that there was a powerful Portuguese fleet in the fortress of Ormuz, which had come to its relief. A message also arrived with these letters, that at the entrance to the Strait of Mecca there was another fleet (which was that of Pero de Ataide Inferno). The Turk was afraid that these might enter the very house of his false Prophet and totally destroy it (because the Strait was completely unprotected), so he agreed to have fifteen galleys those that Piri Reis took to Basra sent to the Strait of Mecca, to guard and defend it. Barbarossa, the former captain of El Katiff, who was in the court and very ashamed about having abandoned that fortress so easily to D. Antão de Noronha, (as we mentioned above), learned about this. Wishing to make up for the blunder for which he was responsible, he used his influence so as to be put in charge of that expedition. The Turk assigned it to him and immediately sent him standing orders by courier to go to Basra, choose fifteen of the galleys that Piri Reis had taken there, and proceed to the Strait of Mecca to protect it. The rest of the galleys were to stay in Basra to wage war against the Gizares. Less than a month after Barbarossa's departure, Piri Reis arrived in Constantinople. Having reached Suez with the galleys, he beached them, removed all the treasures
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy