According to a firsthand diary notice written by an unknown eye-witness - on 23 October 1571. during the dramatic Cyprus war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, six Ottoman cavalrymen appeared in front of the walls of the besieged Dalmatian town Zadar and challenged the same number of Venetian combatants to a duel. The dwellers of Zadar did not want to miss a tournament so they climbed up to the walls of the town, covering even the roofs of the houses above the fighters. Unfortunately, the unknown eye-witness did not describe the duel in detail, noting only that two of the combatants were slightly injured. However, he did mention that after the duel one of the Ottoman participants unsuccessfully asked the rector of Zadar if he could enter the town. He begged to be allowed to visit the churches of Zadar and attend mass, but there was a rumor in the town that he had fallen in love with the rector's daughter. Whether his motive was love for the rector's daughter, whom he had met once before the war, or a visit to the churches of Zadar, the diarist could not answer. Had an Ottoman combatant any chance to win the love of the rector's daughter?
