By Islam El Shazly
Myth, legend and fact mix together for the tale of Piri Reis. His world maps have caused controversy since their discovery back in 1929. They have been the topic of debate for amateurs, historians and researchers, and the debate is still in full swing till now; space aliens and ancient extinct civilisations are a normal occurrence in these debates! Read more…
Determing Latitude using "Fingers".
by Islam El Shazly
Ahmad ibn Majid ibn Muhammad ibn Omar ibn Fadl ibn Dwaik ibn Youssef ibn Hassan ibn Hussein ibn Abi Mo’alaq ibn Abi Al-Raka’eb Al-Najdey.
The Shooting Star.
The Lion of the Seas.
His books, charts, and maps guided sailors for years, and his improvements on nautical tools and nautical inventions transformed how sailors navigated the seven seas forever.
He was a Muslim Arab, navigator, cartographer, and author; born to a famous family of seafarers around 824 AH/1421 CE, in Julphar, Sharjah, one of the emirates of the UAE. Back then it was part of the coast of Oman. Read more…
by Islam El Shazly
Unlike his depiction in Michael Critchton’s Eaters of the Dead, or Antonio Banderas’ incarnation of him in The 13th Warrior, Ahmad ibn Fadlan was not expelled from the Court of the Abbasid Caliph because he courted one of the harems; he was actually favoured by the Caliph. His scholastic, literary, religious, and martial qualifications made him the primary candidate to lead a political and religious expedition. Its record would later be one of the earliest detailed descriptions of the Vikings.
Volga Bulgaria in the Eurasian world of AD 1200. Wikipedia.
by Islam El Shazly
When asked who were the first world-class Navigators are, Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama are first names that come to mind for almost anyone who read a bit of history. But there’s one that predates both of them, with a fleet that put both their fleets combined to shame. His fleet was proof that at times bigger is better and stronger.
A replica of Zheng He's treasure ship in Nanjing's Baochuan Shipyard. Courtesy of www.kbismarck.org
Over 300 large treasure ships, troop ships, horse ships, water and store ships, and smaller escort or attack vessels. 28,000 crewmen and soldiers. Read more…
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