The Mystery of the Piri Reis Map

In 1513, Ottoman admiral Piri Reis drew a map that should not exist. It shows parts of the world that had not yet been explored, and perhaps even a glimpse of Antarctica before it was covered in ice. Was this map a masterpiece of early navigation, or a relic based on lost ancient knowledge? Dive into one of history’s most enduring cartographic enigmas.

#pirireismap, #ancientmysteries, #compactmysteries, #historicalmystery, #cartography, #ottomanhistory, #unsolvedhistory, #mapmystery, #antarctica, #historypodcast

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the CompactMysteries podcast from

(00:05):
CompactMistries.com, theshow where we try to unravel
a different bite-sizedmystery each week, from
baffling disappearancesand strange objects
to unexplained eventsand mysterious places.
This is episode 43, TheMystery of the Perry Rice Map.

(00:30):
In 1929, a group ofscholars working in
Istanbul's top-cappy palacemade an unexpected discovery.
Tucked away in a dustycollection of old documents
was a piece of gazelleskin parchment covered
in colourful drawings, cryptic notes, anda map depicting an elaborate coastline.
What they had found would soon be knownas The Perry Race Map, a 16th-century naval

(00:52):
chart that would goon to baffle historians,
cartographers, andconspiracy theorists alike.
But why?
Because this map,drawn in 1513, appeared to
show parts of the world thatshouldn't have been known at the time.
Most famously it seemed to depict the coastof South America, but also more bizarrely

(01:13):
Antarctica, centuries beforeit was officially discovered.
Was it simply artistic imagination, a luckyguess, or evidence of a forgotten history?
The truth remains elusivebut the mystery has endured.
Perry Race was not amystery himself, born
around 1465 in what isnow modern-day Turkey.

(01:35):
He was an Ottoman admiral,navigator, and cartographer.
His full name was Ahmed Mohidin-Peri,but he became known simply as "Peri Race",
rice being a naval titlemeaning "Captain" or "Admiral".
He served in the Ottomanfleet during a time of
intense naval warfareand expansion, participating
in numerous campaignsacross the Mediterranean.

(01:56):
His real passion, however,was mapping the world.
In 1513, he compiled amap using a wide range
of sources, includingcharts from Portuguese
and Spanish explorers, andpossibly even ancient documents.
His annotations make this clear.
He writes in the margins thatsome parts of the map were
based on sources from theera of Alexander the Great.

(02:19):
Only a fragment of theoriginal map survives,
but what remains has been enoughto fuel nearly a century of speculation.
The surviving portion of the PerryRace map focuses on the Atlantic Ocean.
It clearly outlines thewestern coasts of Europe
and Africa, as well as parts ofthe eastern coast of South America.
These features arereasonably accurate for

(02:41):
the time and are consistent with whatEuropean explorers had mapped by 1513.
But then there is themore controversial
section, the part that appearsto show a southern landmass.
Some have interpretedthis as Antarctica,
specifically the coast ofQueen Mordland, which
was not officially discovereduntil the early 19th century.

(03:03):
Even more puzzling, the mapseems to depict this southern land
without the thick layer of icethat currently covers the continent.
This led some researchesin the 20th century to
suggest that the mapmust be based on ancient
sources dating back toa time when Antarctica
was ice-free, ascenario that would place
the original source thousands of yearsbefore the rise of known civilization.

(03:25):
To skeptics, this soundedlike fantasy, but to others
it opened the door toastonishing possibilities.
The idea that the PerryRace map was based on
much older sourcescomes from a 20th-century
hypothesis popularized byauthors such as Charles Hapgood.
In the 1960s, Hapgoodargued that the map was
evidence of an ancientseafaring civilization,

(03:48):
one that possessedsophisticated geographical
knowledge long before therise of European exploration.
According to Hapgood'stheory, this hypothetical
ancient culture hadmapped the globe with
surprising precision,including the coastline
of Antarctica, when it was not yet coveredin ice, potentially over 6,000 years ago.
This knowledge he suggestedwas preserved through

(04:10):
time and eventually incorporatedinto maps like Perry Rice's.
Supporters of thistheory point to the map's
supposed accuracy,its references to ancient
sources, and its inclusion of regions thatwere unknown to Renaissance era Europe.
Critics however argue that much ofthe interpretation is wishful thinking.

(04:30):
Not everyone agrees thatthe map shows Antarctica at all.
Some scholars arguethat the supposed southern
landmass is simplya distorted depiction
of South America'ssouthern coast drawn in a
curved or exaggeratedway to fill the space.
Others suggest that themap reflects the limited
geographical knowledge ofthe time, where cartographers

(04:51):
often filled in gaps with educatedguesses or decorative illustrations.
Perry Rice himselfacknowledged that he
compiled informationfrom multiple sources, some
of which were inconsistentor even contradictory.
From this perspective the mapis remarkable but not miraculous.
It depicts the world aspeople in the early 1500s

(05:12):
imagined it, a blend of accuratecoastlines, legends and speculation.
Still the mystery refuses to go away.
What makes the PerryRice map so captivating
is the way it sits at the intersectionof history, science and speculation.
On one hand it is a tangiblehistorical object, a genuine

(05:32):
artifact created by a realperson in a known place and time.
On the other hand, itchallenges our assumptions
about what was knownin the early 16th century.
Could a map from 1513really contain echoes
of ancient knowledge, or are we simplyreading too much into a cleverly drawn chart?
Some have gone even further.
The map has been citedin fringe theories involving

(05:55):
everything from lost Atlantisto extraterrestrial visitors.
While these claims lackevidence, they highlight
the human tendency to fill gapsin knowledge with imagination.
The enduring mystery of the map lies notjust in what it shows, but in how it forces
us to consider the gaps inour understanding of history.

(06:15):
Over the years, moderncartographers and
historians have examinedthe Perry Rice map
using satellite dataand computer modeling.
Some studies suggestthat parts of the map,
particularly its representationof South America,
are surprisingly accurate whenadjusted for projection methods.
However, most academicconsensus agrees that

(06:36):
the map does notshow Antarctica, at least
not with the precisionor intent that some claim.
Instead, it is a mix of observation,second-hand reports, and artistic licence.
Even so, the craftsmanship is impressive.
Perry Rice used a grid-based systemand annotated his sources extensively.

(06:56):
In an era before globalpositioning systems
and aerial photography, it remains atestament to human curiosity and ingenuity.
There's something inherently intriguingabout a map that shows more than it should.
In a world where so much of history is lostor fragmented, the Perry Rice map offers
a tantalising glimpse into the knowledgeand imagination of past generations.

(07:20):
Was it a misunderstoodproduct of its time, or a
window into a forgottenchapter of human exploration?
That question remains open.
The truth may be more mundane thanmyth, but the allure of the map lives on.
It reminds us thathistory is not just a
record of what happened,but also a reflection
of what people believed,feared, and dreamed.

(07:43):
For now, the Perry Rice mapsits quietly in a museum in Istanbul.
Its colourful lines still whisperingsecrets across the centuries.
I hope you enjoyed thatepisode of the Compact
Mysteries podcast fromcompactmistries.com.
If you did, why not leave us a reviewwherever you get your podcasts?

(08:05):
And while you'rethere, don't forget to
subscribe so you don'tmiss any future episodes.
If you would like to support us moredirectly, please consider buying us a coffee.
Head on over tocompacthistories.com/mysteriescoffee to see how.
Also, please check out ourother Compact Podcasts.
You will find them allat compacthistories.com.

(08:28):
Thanks for listeningand I'll see you next time.