The Fra Mauro Map

The Fra Mauro Map of the World is old. Actually this is one of the maps, created by a Venetian Munk, that is likely a copy off another very interesting map that holds more ancient and more accurate Biblical locations. One can only imagine what maps there used to exist of the Promised Lands in its former glory. Now on this map the date says 1450, and although it does not contain to many locations or ancient names that ties in Biblical areas. Other than Abassia, which could be connected to Assyria and Babylonia. However, it does show something else that is very interesting and uplifting for People from the Continent. The Childrenof Abraham. For when you have good long look at all the castles and ancient wonders that had been constructed on the African continent, which we believe we can find remains even in the modern age. Building these type of architectural buildings, are not an easy thing to accomplish. And it gives away many attributes of the people that did construct them. It hints and shows tell tell signs of culture, intelligence and ingenuity. A thriving people. Blessed by SoNiNi. Sons of Abraham. Lets Dive !

Now studying this map, you will find things rather juxtaposed. And Southern parts of Africa seems to be located on an Island, with a mighty River blowing through it. Could be an attempt to locate the Zambezi. We can make our Xegibar (which presumably is Zanzibar) and as we go further down that coastal area, we come to Soffala (Sofala), which would be close to Beira and Maputo. From there we think one ancient name has survived, and it is none other than Baraua which we believe is Port Natal (Durban) and the city of Berea, as mentioned in Acts of the Apostles. After Berea, there comes what looks like its written Maabale, which could be todays modern seaports like Port Elizabeth (Gheberqa) or East London (eMonti). Or we have already rounded the Cape and started going up the Southwestern African coast. As called on Fra Mauros Map, Ethiopia Austral, which we can see on the map below, going up to West Africa, called Ethiopia Occidental (Oriental?). Are we seeing here ancient old names that we can connect to the Bible?

Now if you look closer to this portion of the map, there are castles upon castles in almost all corners of the continent. Its hard to see, but you can make out places like Abassia (could be Assyria). Now even though this is likely a mapping done from another source, most likely Islamic cartographers, which means book burnings and Biblical places have already moved off the continent. There are still civilised traces here that any African should be proud of. Signs of serious infrastructure, agricultural wonders and many complex structures. Which goes against any train of thought of contemporary historians, because they honestly believe that Africans were not able to construct, well anything.

Now we are looking from East to West, which is also interesting, but the way Islams would see the world back then was different. And they are behind some of the few maps that have survived, but the really old ones are now lost to us or part of some private collection. Now the Venetian munk, who supposedly stayed on the Island of Murano, based this map on other maps collected in Venetian Libraries. And Fra Mauro also said to talk to sailers and the like, perhaps access to old Catholic libraries would not hurt your base of knowledge. But he does show some reliance on Muslmi travelers, which of course is not very comprehensive when it comes to Africa and the southern tip which we are more interested in.

On Cape Diab (southern Africa) Fra Mauro used an old Indian source, were he wrote this about southern Africa:

Around 1420 a ship, or junk, from India crossed the Sea of India towards the Island of Men and the Island of Women, off Cape Diab, between the Green Islands and the shadows. It sailed for 40 days in a south-westerly direction without ever finding anything other than wind and water. According to these people themselves, the ship went some 2,000 miles ahead until - once favourable conditions came to an end - it turned round and sailed back to Cape Diab in 70 days.

So then, there must have been several established ports on the southern African coast, not just on Mozambique side, but also in the South (like Port of Natal), Port of the Cape, and more up towards the west coast of Namibia and upwards on the Southwestern coast. There was not always a desert up there towards Nineveh, remember that, the Skeleton Coast is a new wonder.

Now, back to Fra Mauros map we can see written clearly, at the Island called Diab, The Port of Soffala. This place had also been called Nova Sofala, but in ancient times it went by another name again, a very central and important Port. For this is one of the oldest (documented anyways) port that there is in southern Africa. And as we have sources telling us it was the biggest seaport in the Monomapatan (Mwenemutapa) Kingdom. This would have been the lands of Mesopotamia, the lands in between the two Rivers, Euphrates and Tigre, as we think these are the Zambezi and the Congo. Now Sofala is today found in the country of Mozambique. It has always been connected with Gold ad the search for gold, it is even derived from the name Sofala.

Sofala, is close to the Buzi River (also called Sofala River on old maps), which connected it to the Gold fields of Great Zimbabwe. It would have been a hub of gold trade in the old days, as busy as can be. Now it is said these traiders came from Mogadishu (which may be close to ancient Tarshish), and the movements of the Sultanate of Mogadishu and Kilwan Sultanace are well documented. But we are talking about earlier times. These are but remains of the old days.

Now of you look into these writings of the Portuguese, like the Captains clerk Thomé Lopes, he wrote quite clearly that Sofala was the Biblical Ophir and the rulers there were related to Queen Sheba. This was even put forth in modern times by Augusts Henry Keane (1833-1912), that argued Sofala to be the place of Tarshish, which would make it the place of the ships of Tarshish, are these the tradesmen of Mogadishu?

Now getting into the source for this map, is where it gets interesting. Now the text on the map mentions travel account of one Niccolò de' Conti (1395-1469), who was said to have traveled Asia and China, during nothing shorter then 20 years of extensive travel, and speculations of that he also went to Africa or had some even older writings of someone who had indeed traveled inland Africa.

Now, MANY of the locations that found their ways into Europeans cartographers maps. Most of these, are truly armchair quarterbacks the whole lot of them. VERY few of them even left the comforts of their homes. But they used other peoples sources, so Fra Mauros map is said to contain many sources from de Conti and another famous traveled named Marco Polo (1254-1324). Marco Polo is mentioned in particular for his writings on the Silk Road and East Asia. But for Africa, the best old European sources (with the least amount of contamination from first hand encounters) came from the Portuguese and a very famous Italian map, The De Virga World map. A map that shows the 4 River of Paradise coming out of the DEEPEST parts of southern Africa, makes one speculate if this is indeed close to the location of Jerusalem. This map you are seeing does indeed have Jerusalem on top of the World.

So, Fra Mauro relied heavily on Portuguese accounts along the West Coast, and there are talks of an Ethiopian embassy that came to Rome in 1430s. But yes many Muslim sources, which can be seen in the whole flipping of the map upside down. North to South inversion. An Arab tradition. No let it be said that very few maps has similar information of the western cartographers and manuscripts from a similar time period. So these two maps, De Virga World Map and Fra Mauro map, we think holds some of the Ancient names from Biblical times and or also small traces of the thriving civilisations on the African continent.

Africa was not a dark and uncivilised continent. It was never without culture, agriculture and architecture. It is the home of deep Spirituality. Africans has long been seen or at least paitined as primitive by the west. It is a fallacy to think that is even remotely true. It is rather the west that is primitive in its stubbornness and one-sidedness. In almost every venture it tries to get its grasp of or on, Be it medicine or law, after a while it falls down on its own weight of puffed-upness and arrogance. You must include SoNiNi in these disciplines, without His righteousness we cannot approach goodness. Let alone accomplish anything remotely good within it. Be that science or spirituality. We must make space for SoNiNi. Make space for Him to work His ways in our life.

SoNiNi unathi