For a long time, I imagined the Mediterranean based on a preconceived image. It seemed “natural” for a Frenchman or a European: Europe, to the north, is above, and the other shore, African and Arab, to the south, is below. But this representation, widely spread and dominant, is nothing more than a convenience, long left unchallenged. The Andalusian geographer, Al Idrissi, who worked for King Roger II of Normandy in Sicily, represented the Mediterranean quite differently: Africa is above and Europe is below.
When I first saw this map by Al Idrissi and discovered this other perspective, I felt lost; I had no reference points to locate myself in this sea between lands that forms the Mediterranean.
It is high time to learn to decentralize our gaze, to vary our perspectives, supposedly “geographical,” and to recognize the mental maps that are imprinted in our heads. They shape the way we view the world.
Thus, a vivid astonishment arises when one experiences another Mediterranean, parallel, descending, or longitudinal, through this long finger of sea of 800 km that the Adriatic draws. Another perspective then emerges, along the way, in what pertains to the Mediterranean world, but not only.
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