Fantastically decorated muzzle loading pistol with Arabic writing

[Big_Blue]

I hope this post is alright here on the Longrifles forum.  I recently purchased a Kentucky Longrifle and was at my LGS picking up some lead balls when I saw what appeared from across the store to be a large Christmas tree ornament shaped like a pistol. But it wasn't a simple ornament at all--it was so much more.

A gentleman and his elderly father in law had laid this elaborately designed pistol out on the counter.  I walked over and got to talking with them and offered to come to you guys/gals and ask for help identifying the pistol.  I've placed a Photobucket link below with pictures of the pistol. I took pictures from as many angles as I could with my phone/camera. I'm hoping these pictures will be enough for somebody to identify the pistol.

One of the customer's in the shop said the barrel looked like it was about 69 caliber.

I will be contacting colleagues who work in the Middle East to ask them to translate the writing on the barrel. In the subject line of this thread I said the writing was Arabic, but to be honest--I don't really know what it is. What I do know is, it was beautiful.

The man's father in law picked up the pistol at an estate sale about 50 years ago. He has no idea what the history of the gun might be, but he's mighty curious to learn more about it.

I'm going to send an email to the gentleman who brought the gun in and have him monitor this forum. Feel free to ask him questions.

http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/Michael_R_Mardis/slideshow/TEMP/Musket%20Pistol%20150123

[E.vonAschwege]

This pistol originated in the Eastern Mediterranean, and is what collectors generally consider "Turkish", but could have also been produced in Greece for trade further east.  Though they're collectively called Turkish pistols, they likely saw use throughout the Arab countries.  Yours is more heavily embellished than many, and an "expert" on the Antiques Roadshow (when looking at a similar piece) said that the pink inlays are coral.  The surrounding knobs look like an overlay of silver on top of the wood stock.  The metal inlay on the barrel is better quality than most I've seen, which usually just look like blobs of brass or silver.  I'll be curious to see what your colleague translates it to. 
-Eric

[JCKelly]

People familiar with such weapons, including some who can read that writing, may be encountered on the website vikingsword  dot com.  You can log on & browse the sections. To post one must register, which may take a couple of weeks to go through. This is an international site, one must be polite as it includes ALL ethnic groups, religions, &c.