In 1324, while traveling to Mecca for the hajj, the world's richest man of all time Mansa Musa
stayed in Cairo. During his stay there, he befriended an emir named Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn
Amir Hajib. In one of their conversations, the Emir asked Musa how he became king,
and Musa told him the following story: I belong to a clan in which royal power is
hereditary. The king who was my ancestor dreamed of discovering the farthest point of the Atlantic.
He therefore, equipped 200 ships full of men, and an equal number of ships supplied with gold,
water, and provisions sufficient to last them for years, and bade the leader of the expedition:
"Do not return until you have reached the end of it, or until your provisions are exhausted."
They set out, and it was a long time before any returned. Then one ship came back and we asked
the captain what news they were bringing. He said: "Oh, Sultan, we have traveled a long time until a
river with a strong current appeared in the open sea. My ship was at last. The other ships went on,
but when they reached this place they did not come back, and we saw them no more;
we do not know what became of them. Then I went right back and did not enter that river."
The Sultan, however, doubted his words. Then he prepared 2,000 ships-1,000 for himself and
his men and as many more for water, gold, and provisions. He left me to relieve him,
and with his men set out for the Atlantic. That was the last time we saw him and
everyone else. That's how I became king. There is a hypothesis that suggests that this
huge expedition actually discovered America and created another kingdom there. However,
why if this is the case no one has returned to the Mali Empire to report,
and in general what really happened to the expedition remains a mystery to this day.
The search for popular but undiscovered lands has always excited mankind. Such as the great Tynis.
Tennis Around 3000 BC,
the history of Upper Egypt entered a time of striving for political unity, as documented
by the ancient Egyptian chronicler Manetho. It was at this time that hieroglyphs began to
serve as the means by which the history of three independent cities along the Nile - Tynis, Nehen
and Naqada - was recorded. These cities engaged in a ruthless struggle for supremacy over the region.
Tynis, with its strong armies, was able to prevail over the Nakada, continuing its territorial
expansion into the lower Nile Valley. According to Manetho, Nehen, frightened by the mighty power
of Tynis, subsequently joined him voluntarily. This action marks the moment when Egypt first
united under the rule of a single dynasty. This process culminated in the reign of Narmer also
known as Menes, a figure who is considered the first pharaoh to rule with divine legitimacy.
This led to the administrative centre being moved to Memphis. The once prosperous and powerful city
of Tynis gradually began to lose its importance. However, archaeological finds, such as the Palette
of Narmer, discovered in 1897 by James Edward Quibell and Frederick Wasti Green, present
significant evidence of the military exploits and support from the gods that Narmer received.
This is what is embodied in the hieroglyphs and ancient reliefs of the discovery.
Despite its immense importance in ancient Egyptian history, no direct archaeological traces of the
existence of Tynis have yet been discovered. However, scholars are not losing hope that the
remains of this hugely important city will one day be uncovered, revealing its historical treasures.
The Lost City of Z From the moment Europeans set
foot on the American continent, there has been a legend of a mythical city filled with gold
hidden in the jungle thicket known as El Dorado. Francisco de Orellana was the first European to
set out in search of this city, crossing the Rio Negro basin, but more on that in a moment.
In 1925, at the age of 58, explorer Percy Fawcett set off for the Brazilian jungles in search of a
similar mystical lost city, which he named "Z". Fawcett and his team disappeared without a trace,
their fate becoming one of the most intriguing mysteries of its time.
In 1906, Fawcett received an invitation from the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain,
an organization supporting scientific research, to study the territory between Brazil and Bolivia. He
spent 18 months in the Mato Grosso area, where his interest in lost civilizations grew considerably.
In 1920, Fossett discovered a document in the National Library of Rio de Janeiro known as
"Manuscript 512". It was written by a Portuguese explorer in 1753 who described the discovery
of a city in the Amazon with features resembling ancient Greek architecture,
including ramparts, multi-story buildings, impressive stone arches, and wide streets
connecting to a lake on whose shore he saw two Indians in a canoe. Fawcett christened
this mystical city "The Lost City of Z". Fawcett's first expedition to discover the city
set out in 1921, but the challenges of the jungle, dangerous animals, and widespread disease often
impeded progress. Fossett's last attempt to find Z ended with his disappearance without a trace.
In April 1925 he undertook his final expedition, this time with better equipment and funding from
various sources, including the Royal Geographical Society and the Rockefeller Foundation. In his
last letter, sent to his wife Nina through a member of the team, Fawcett expressed optimism
about traversing the dangerous region, stating that there was no room for fear of failure.
This was the last message received by the expedition.
Had Fawcett and his companions found something that so captivated them and
never let them go again, or had they simply fallen victim to the jungle? What do you think?
One thing is certain ... and today, the lost city of Z remains just that - lost!
Thule
The legendary island of Thule. According to ancient legend, mentioned in ancient Greek
and Roman literature and cartography, it is located somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean,
near the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is also known as the island
outside the boundaries of the known world. Various interpretations over the centuries have pointed to
locations such as Orkney and Shetland, northern Scotland, the island of Saaremaa in Estonia,
and the Norwegian island of Smøla as possible locations of Thule.
During the late Middle Ages and early modern period Thule was often identified with Iceland
or Greenland, with Ultima Thule serving as the Latin name for Greenland, while only Thule was
used for Iceland. Until the late 19th century, Thule was also often associated with Norway.
In 1910, the explorer Knud Rasmussen founded a missionary and trading post in northwest
Greenland called "Thule". Thule also gave its name to the northernmost United States Air
Force base in northwest Greenland. However, on 6 April 2023, the base was transferred
to the United States Space Force, and its name was changed to Pituffik Space Base.
The Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia now Marseille, France was the first to
write about Thule after his travels between 330 and 320 B.C. He is the author of some of
the oldest known records of these latitudes collected in his work called On the Ocean.
Sadly, his original writings have been lost to time, but descriptions of his discoveries survive
in the works of later, often skeptical authors. Polybius, in his Historia around 140 BC, quotes
Pytheas describing Thule as a region in which "there is neither land, nor sea, nor air,
but a mixture of all three, with the consistency of jellyfish. There was no
sunset, and the sun was abruptly hidden." Strabo, in his Geographica, about A.D. 30,
mentions Thule, describing it as a place six days' sail north of Britannia, but doubts Pytheas'
assertions. Pomponius Mela, a first-century Roman geographer, positioned Thule north of Scythia,
while Pliny the Elder in his Natural History also claimed that Thule was a six-day sail north of
Britannia, describing it as a place with eternal days in summer and eternal nights in winter.
Solinus in his Polyhistor and Procopius in his notes describe the place as a fertile land
inhabited by 25 tribes, suggesting that it was part of Scandinavia.
Modern researchers and scholars continue to search for Thule, considering various hypotheses about
its location and historical significance. Thule also gave the name to the element thulium in the
periodic table. El Dorado
El Dorado is a symbol of untold riches and an object of endless search. It is a myth that
has become one of the most celebrated legends in the history of New World exploration. The
name El Dorado, translated from Spanish, means "the golden one".
It was originally used to describe a mythical ruler who sprinkled himself with gold dust
during ritual ceremonies and immersed himself in the sacred lake of Guatavita. This custom
is part of the culture of the Muisca, an Indian people who inhabited the high plains of Colombia.
The existence of El Dorado attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors
in the 16th century, who rushed to the Americas in search of wealth and glory.
Among those seeking the golden city were Sir Walter Raleigh and Francisco Vásquez de Coronado,
who led numerous expeditions through what is now Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and northern Brazil.
These explorations contributed to the mapping of much of northern South America and the Amazon,
but the mythical city was never discovered. Moving through the centuries, the legend of
El Dorado has transformed from a specific ruler to the idea of a wealthy city or kingdom. Its
location has been the subject of much speculation, being supposedly located somewhere along the
shores of the legendary Lake Parime or in other remote and inaccessible areas of the continent.
The legend continued to excite and inspire explorers until the early
19th century when most people began to dismiss the city's existence as a myth.
However, research by Alexander von Humboldt and other travelers suggests that the legend may have
been inspired by real places and customs, such as the sacred lakes of the Muisca, which were
the center of religious rites and sacrifices. Be sure to support us by subscribing to the
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