Davenport and the Ambassador, the permit, called an Iradé, was granted, allowing the export of "six or eight" horses. Davenport and his traveling companions left the United States on July 5, 1906, traveling to France by ship and from there to Constantinople by train. Upon arrival, the Iradé was authenticated, and clarified that Davenport would be allowed to export both mares and stallions. Davenport's accomplishment was notable for several reasons. It was the first time Arabian horses officially had been allowed to be exported from the Ottoman Empire in 35 years. It was also notable that Davenport not only was able to purchase stallions, which were often available for sale to outsiders, but also mares, which were treasured by the Bedouin; the best war mares generally were not for sale at any price. Before Davenport left Constantinople to travel to Aleppo and then into the desert, he visited the royal stables, and also took advantage of an opportunity to view the Sultan during a public appearance. He displayed his artistic ability and talent for detail by sketching several portraits of Abdul Hamid II from memory about a half-hour after observing him, as Davenport believed the ruler unwilling to have his image drawn. Davenport's personal impression of the Sultan was sympathetic, viewing him as a frail, elderly man burdened by the weight of his office but kind and fatherly to his children. Davenport compared his appearance as a melding of the late congressman from Maine, Nelson Dingley, with merchant and philanthropist Nathan Straus, commenting of the Sultan, "I thought ... that no matter what crimes had been charged to him, his expressionless soldiers, his army and its leaders were possibly more to blame than he." Believing that he needed to keep his sketches a secret, he carried the sketch book in a hidden pocket throughout his journey, and at customs smuggled it onto the steamer home hidden inside a bale of hay. One reason for Davenport's success in obtaining high-quality, pure-blooded Arabian horses was his (possibly accidental) decision to breach protocol and visit Akmet Haffez, a Bedouin who served as a liaison between the Ottoman government and the tribal people of the Anazeh, before calling upon the Governor of Syria, Nazim Pasha. Haffez considered the timing of Davenport's visit a great honor, and gave Davenport his finest mare, a war mare named *Wadduda. Not to be outdone, the Pasha gave Davenport