TEHRAN -- An Iranian geographer has said that the story of Prophet Jonah (AS) had taken place in the Persian Gulf.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2nd Persian Gulf Book Festival in Tehran on Sunday, Javad Safinejad stated, “There is a map in Turkey depicting the land in which Jonah (AS) came out from the fish’s maw and an angel brought him clothes.”
“When Abu Is’haq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri’s ‘Kitab al-masalik wa-al-mamalik’ (Book of Roads and Kingdoms) was translated into Turkish during the Ottoman era, a school was established and began to promote the idea of converting geographical maps into miniature paintings,” he added.
Safinejad said that he has read the original book and added, “I did not find anything about Jonah (AS) in this book, but the Turkish version has a painting in the style of the Kitab al-masalik wa-al-mamalik, illustrating the story of the prophet.”
“This is the first map upon which a Turkish cartographer has shown religious and geographical issues,” he stated.
“This map is important for us since it shows the name of the Persian Gulf in a religious document,” he added.
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