Summary

Cinta’s talk closes the conference and draws attention to the linguistics behind the word Venice, as it appears in different languages. It is through this revelation that Deen realizes that what he thought was the Gun Merchant may actually signify “The Merchant who went to Venice”.

Through further analysis, Deen and Cinta realize that the other locations mentioned in the tale could signify Egypt and Turkey. This would mean that the merchant traveled through these locations to make his way to Venice. The unknown symbol on the wall at the Merchant’s shrine is revealed to be the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, indicating that the Captain in the Merchant’s tale was likely Jewish. This makes sense, for at the time, many Jews were making their way to the ghetto of Venice – an island within an island.

With this new...