A ground-breaking re-creation of lost 12th century map on silver disc merges will be on display at Abu Dhabi's Manarat Al Saadiyat, as part of the four-day Hay Festival, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Thursday.
Drawing on several centuries of Islamic cartographic research, 12th century Islamic cartographer al-Sharif Al-Idrisi produced both a book of 70 regional maps covering the surface of the known world, and a single, round map engraved onto a silver disk and set into a wooden table, with Makkah at its center, WAM said.
The original silver disc, commissioned by Sicily’s ruler King Roger II and created by Al-Idrisi in 1153, is now lost. However, on display in Manarat al Saadiyat is a recreation by Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation, of one of the greatest achievements of medieval map-making: a world map of remarkable accuracy inscribed onto a huge disc of solid silver that is two meters wide, said the agency.
Factum Foundation re-created Al-Idrisi's silver map based on one of the best-preserved copies of his book, "Entertainment for those wanting to discover the world", which is held by the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University. This re-creation combines historical research with advanced digital conservation techniques and the highest levels of craftsmanship.
It remained the most technically sophisticated world map for three centuries after its production.
Al-Idrisi’s map will be introduced on Friday - the last day of Hay Festival Abu Dhabi - by British historian Jerry Brotton, author of "A History of the World in Twelve Maps,” WAM added.
