Travellers' Lane is a site located in the
Jardin des Compagnies, an ancient French colonial garden, in
Port Louis, Mauritius.
History
It was created in 2010, during the Bicentenary Celebrations of the Battle of
Grand Port; the only naval battle won by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. Port Louis took part in those celebrations. This part of the garden, adjoining the Majestic movie theatre, was to host a
planisphere in honour of
Al Idrissi
Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد الإدريسي القرطبي الحسني السبتي; la, Dreses; 1100 – 1165), was a Muslim geographer, cartograp ...
, a famous cartographer of
Roger II of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
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, demographi ...
and the only one known in the world.
Poet, travel-writer and
semiologist
Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes (semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something, ...
Khal Torabully
Khal Torabully is a Mauritian poet. Born in Mauritius in 1956, in the capital city Port Louis, his father was a Trinidadian sailor and his mother was a descendant of migrants from India and Malaya.
Work
Khal Torabully left for Lyon in 1976, t ...
, a native of the capital, was requested to devise a permanent event in this corner of Jardin des Compagnies.
Weeks later, he aligned quotations of travelers such as
Ibn Masudi,
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
,
Ibn Khodadbeh,
Ahmad bin Majid
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
,
Joao de Barros and
Camoens. More than 20 testimonies were displayed on plaques, along two alleys and a fountain with an original dolphin sculpture, made by Bungshee, who was also commissioned to make the Al Idrissi planisphere.
A stamp celebrating Al Idrissi's contributions was released by the Mauritian Post Office. Travellers' Lane was unveiled during an official ceremony with
Navin Ramgoolam, the former Prime Minister, and Mrs.
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
Dr. Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim () GCSK (born 17 October 1959) is a Mauritian politician and biodiversity scientist who served as the sixth president of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018. In December 2014, she was selected to be the presidential ...
, the present Mauritian President.
References
External links
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{{coord missing, Mauritius
Gardens in Mauritius