Ottoman wintering in Toulon

[2] Toulon Cathedral was transformed into a mosque with the call to prayer occurring five times a day, and Ottoman coinage was the currency of choice.

[5] They raided and bombarded Barcelona in Spain, and Sanremo, Borghetto Santo Spirito, Ceriale in the Republic of Genoa, and defeated Italo-Spanish naval attacks.

[5] The Ottomans finally departed from their Toulon base after a stay of 8 months, on 23 May 1544, after Francis I had paid 800,000 ecus to Barbarossa.

[2] Five French galleys, under the command of the "Général des galères" Captain Polin, accompanied Barbarossa’s fleet, on a diplomatic mission to Sultan Suleiman.

[10] Toulon would again be used as a safe harbour for several months by Turgut Reis from August 1546, when he was pursued by the fleet of Genoese admiral Andrea Doria.