The Ottoman Empire reached its peak at 1590 and Ottoman influence and style affected all the land it conquered. The predominant religion in the Empire was Islam whereas Christians were treated as second-class citizens. Islamic art was shown in many different aspects. Mosques were the most notable religious architecture. Islamic art strongly discouraged the rendering of human figure in art and many of the designs combined geometric and vegetal elements, for instance, the arabesque. Besides, with Constantinople(Istanbul) as its capital and vast control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, the empire centered the interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for over six centuries. The wide ethnic range of the Empire resulted in a new decoration style--the lively saz style--which borrowed heavily from Eastern motifs. The most popular style, however, was the naturalistic style which depicted realistic garden flora. This style became the preferred Ottoman decorative theme for ceramics, textiles, and even architectural embellishment.
At the same time, in Ottoman Maghreb, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli were the three political and industry centers and main ports in North Africa. Europeans traded