Andalusia: History and Civilisation
26.09.2025
Social impact, Projects
Our 2023 Al Andalus exhibition took visitors on an incredible journey through a fascinating period in history. In the central gallery, visitors were transported to Cordoba in the year 1116, where a 16-year-old Muhammad bin Muhammad Al Idrisi has just arrived to study at the city’s famed university. Captivated by the unfamiliar languages, attire and beliefs of his fellow students, Al Idrisi is inspired by stories of the extraordinary world beyond Al Andalus. Over the next fifty years, Al Idrisi would travel thousands of miles, meticulously recording the territories along his route. For King Roger II of Sicily he compiled a great compendium of geographical knowledge—The Excursion of the One Who Yearns to Penetrate the Horizons—which was so complete it would be used by travellers and explorers for centuries to come. The compendium included two maps: one on paper and the other a huge, circular silver disc. Modern replicas of both of these maps featured in the exhibition.