<P> Qarakhanid Uyghur scholar Mahmud al - Kashgari compiled a Compendium of the languages of the Turks in the 11th century . The manuscript is illustrated with a "Turkocentric" world map, oriented with east (or rather, perhaps, the direction of midsummer sunrise) on top, centered on the ancient city of Balasagun in what is now Kyrgyzstan, showing the Caspian Sea to the north, and Iraq, Armenia, Yemen and Egypt to the west, China and Japan to the east, Hindustan, Kashmir, Gog and Magog to the south . Conventional symbols are used throughout--blue lines for rivers, red lines for mountain ranges etc . The world is shown as encircled by the ocean . The map is now kept at the Pera Museum in Istanbul . </P> <P> The Arab geographer, Muhammad al - Idrisi, incorporated the knowledge of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East gathered by Arab merchants and explorers with the information inherited from the classical geographers to create the most accurate map of the world at the time . It remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries . The Tabula Rogeriana was drawn by Al - Idrisi in 1154 for the Norman King Roger II of Sicily, after a stay of eighteen years at his court, where he worked on the commentaries and illustrations of the map . The map, written in Arabic, shows the Eurasian continent in its entirety, but only shows the northern part of the African continent . </P> <P> The Ebstorf Map was an example of a European mappa mundi, made by Gervase of Ebstorf, who was possibly the same man as Gervase of Tilbury, some time in the thirteenth century . It was a very large map: painted on 30 goatskins sewn together, it measured about 3.6 m × 3.6 m (12 ft × 12 ft). The head of Christ was depicted at the top of the map, with his hands on either side and his feet at the bottom . The Map was a greatly elaborated version of the medieval tripartite or T and O map; it was centred on Jerusalem with east on top of the map . It represented Rome in the shape of a lion, and had an evident interest in the distribution of bishoprics . The original was destroyed during World War II, but some photographs and colour copies remain . </P> <P> The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a detailed mappa mundi based on the T and O map style, dating to c. 1300 . The map is signed by one "Richard of Haldingham or Lafford". Drawn on a single sheet of vellum, it measures 158 by 133 cm (62 by 52 in). The writing is in black ink, with additional red and gold, and blue or green for water (with the Red Sea coloured red). The captions demonstrate clearly the multiple functions of these large medieval maps, conveying a mass of information on Biblical subjects and general history, in addition to geography . </P>

When was the first map of the world made