A horse’s tomb that has become a place of pilgrimage, a tree held up by a pillar in the garden of a Sufi convent that would herald the end of the world if it fell down, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s glass, a carpet that predicts the end of the Ottoman empire, fragments from the Black Stone of Mecca, the covering of a fountain from Pearl Harbor in the Pacific, a church under the protection of Muhammad, a synagogue that was a landmark for Ashkenazi Jews, a garment worn by the Prophet that was inadvertently ironed, a handful of hot ash that saved the Ottoman empire … Emre Öktem, born in Istanbul, is professor of international law at Galatasaray University (Istanbul). He also teaches at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and the Turkish War Academies. The author of books and articles on human rights, freedom of religion, minority rights, the law of armed conflict and the history of law under the Ottoman Empire, he is actively involved in interreligious dialogue. He has served as an expert with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Turkish courts and international investment arbitration.