Medieval Muslim Map of the world presented at Hay Festival Abu Dhabi

• Hay Festival Abu Dhabi will bring together writers and readers from all over the world for conversation and new ideas from 25 – 28 February at Manarat al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi
• The silver map will be on display at Manarat al Saadiyat
• Commissioned by Sicily’s ruler King Roger II and created by Islamic cartographer al-Sharīf Al-Idrīsī in 1153
• The map is renowned for its great scientific accuracy and technical sophistication
• Factum Foundation has re-created the silver map with new, digital techniques and traditional skills
• A video that was made around the project can be found here
• Hay Festival Abu Dhabi in partnership with Careem are offering 20% discount (up to AED 20) on all rides to and from Manarat Al Saadiyat for the duration of the Festival using the code HAYFESTIVAL

Recreating al-Idrisi’s lost 1153 silver map of the world © FactumArte

Abu Dhabi: Visitors to Hay Festival Abu Dhabi will be able to see an extraordinary 12^th-century world map engraved on a giant silver disc, the first time it has been presented in the Arab world.

The original silver disc, created 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, 2 metres wide.

Drawing on several centuries of Islamic cartographic research, 12^th century Islamic cartographer Al-Idrīsī 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 Mecca at its centre. The book, which was called Entertainment for those wanting to discover the world (Nuzhat al-mushtāq fi'khtirāq al-āfāq) survives only through later copies. It remained the most technically sophisticated world-map for three centuries after its production.

In a ground-breaking project, Factum Foundation has re-created Al-Idrīsī’s silver map based on one of the best-preserved copies of the book, 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.  As part of Hay Festival Abu Dhabi, Al-Idrīsī’s map will be introduced on Friday 28^th of February by British historian Jerry Brotton, author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps.

Friday 28th February

The Centre of the World: Al Idrisi’s Map

Time: 1pm

Venue: Tolerance Majlis, Manarat Al Saadiyat

Price: AED 20; free for those younger than 25 years old or in full time education

• A video that was made around the project can be found here
• Factum Foundation’s project page explaining the main steps can be found here
• Factum Foundation has also published a book on the project, which can be found here

Hay Festival Abu Dhabi in partnership with Careem are offering all Festival goers a 20% discount on eight Careem rides to and from the Festival in Manarat Al Saadiyat, with the code HAYFESTIVAL. This code is valid from 25 to 28 February 2020, with a maximum discount of AED 20 per trip. Terms & Conditions apply.

Hay Festival Abu Dhabi will feature a range of award-winning writers, journalists, historians, filmmakers and artists in an international programme spanning nearly 100 events over four days. The festival spotlights the latest ideas in the arts, sciences and current affairs, with over 20 nationalities and 7 languages represented. The programme reflects the diversity of communities in Abu Dhabi itself, including writers from all around the Middle East, North Africa, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, China, Nigeria and Europe.

In partnership with BBC Arabic, film screenings will reflect current social and political situations in the Arab world, while live performances of music and poetry will open and close the festival, and a welcoming free-to-enter festival site with a dedicated bookshop will extend the reach of the festival to a wide audience.

For tickets purchase, booking or for further information please visit hayfestival.org/abu-dhabi. People under 25 years old or in full-time education can attend the festival programming free of charge.

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kit and images can be downloaded from here: https://bit.ly/2lPaZ44

-Ends-

For further information please contact:
Brunswick Arts
hayfestival@brunswickgroup.com
UAE and GCC | +971 54 305 2882 / +971 56 401 9140
International | +447 834 502 582
For press accreditation and event tickets, please visit the following link: www.hayfestival.org/abu-dhabi  

About Factum Foundation

Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation is a not-for profit organisation founded in 2009 in Madrid by Adam Lowe. It works alongside its sister company, Factum Arte, a multidisciplinary workshop in Madrid dedicated to digital mediation and physical transformation in contemporary art and the production of facsimiles. The Foundation was established to demonstrate the importance of documenting, monitoring, studying, recreating and disseminating the world’s cultural heritage through the rigorous development of high-resolution recording and rematerialisation techniques. The Foundation’s activities include: building digital archives for preservation and further study, creating and organising touring exhibitions, setting up training centres for locals to learn the different technologies developed by the Foundation to record their own cultural heritage, and producing exact facsimiles as part of a new approach to conservation and restoration.

About Hay Festival

hayfestival.org 

Hay Festival is an independent, mission-led and non-profit organisation that invites the finest writers and liveliest minds to create conversations about the world as it is and as it might be, inspiring people of all ages to shape the world of tomorrow. The Festival is a catalyst for change. It hosts agenda-setting conversations and performances that could not happen anywhere else and offers bespoke, site-specific programming that addresses contemporary themes and issues its audiences care about – including science, philosophy, religion, politics, gender, economics and the arts. Hay Festival explores local literary traditions, old and new, and supports the next generation of writers by publishing significant anthologies of new writing from around the world. Hay Festival welcomes people from all walks of life. Each edition firmly roots itself in the surrounding communities and brokers meaningful partnerships with local businesses and institutions. Hay Festival breaks down barriers and mixes people. Year on year, it returns in people’s lives and creates a space for conversations, connections and friendships to thrive. It offers outstanding activities dedicated to children of all age groups, families and young people. Since its first edition in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, in 1987, Hay Festival has programmed 125 sustainable Festivals globally, attracting more than 4.5 million people to events in 30 locations. Stephen Fry is its president.

Coming up…

• Hay Festival Abu Dhabi, UAE (25-28 February 2020)
• Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye, Wales (21-31 May 2020)
• Hay Festival Europa28, Croatia (3-5 June 2020)
• Hay Festival Querétaro, Mexico (September 2020)
• Hay Forum Dallas, USA (September 2020)
• Hay Festival Segovia, Spain (September 2020)
• Hay Festival Arequipa, Peru (November 2020)
• Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye Winter Weekend, Wales (27-29 November 2020)
• Hay Festival Cartagena, Colombia (January 2021)
• Hay Festival Medellín, Colombia (January 2021)

About the Ministry of Tolerance  

The Ministry of Tolerance aims to achieve a compelling spectrum of objectives. Through a focus on tolerance, it seeks to facilitate the empowerment of individuals, enabling them to work cooperatively and collaboratively for economic and social development. This brings about greater personal and community safety, security, peace and prosperity, thereby resulting in more sustainable, harmonious and happy societies.

True to the teachings of Islam, the UAE recognises and embraces diversity in all its forms. The UAE Ministry of Tolerance draws on its inspiration from the core values of peace and this inclusive ethos, and are expressed in a variety of ways. These ways include respect and empathy for the many variations in which difference and diversity take shape, compassion for those hindered by their own differences, a positive curiosity about difference and diversity, and the generosity of spirit to reach out to, rather than fear, those who are different.

Etihad Aviation Group

Etihad Aviation Group, a diversified global aviation and travel company, is considered to be one of the world’s most acclaimed aviation brands. Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE and a division of the group, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world’s leading airlines. Etihad Airways flies to over 84 destinations with a fleet of 100 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, serving around 18 million passengers a year and carrying 682,100 tonnes of cargo in 2018. In recent years, the organisation has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty programme, aviation training and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) service.

© Press Release 2020