Actor Ben Kingsley as 12th Century engineer Al-Jazari

Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley played 12th century engineer Al-Jazari in the film '1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets'.

Al-Jazari, from Diyarbakir in southern Turkey, was fascinated by every kind of mechanism and designed machines of all kinds, shapes and sizes. His book 'The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices', completed in 1206, described fifty mechanical devices in six categories, including water clocks.