Circirli Ali Efendi (Mehmed Ali Efendi), Levha, c. 1880, Istanbul, Turkey.

The text of this levha is an Ottoman Turkish poem:

  ”I held fast to the skirt of purity

and God’s pleasure forever.

  I embraced the dust of the

Prophet’s feet forever.

  Perplexed and powerless was my

response to the unexpected.

  I found shelter in the court of

  God’s grace forever.”

(Image from Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakip Sabanci Collection, Istanbul by M. Ugur Derman)