The World from a New View

Same World New View

It came as a surprise to me after over 20 years of seeing "normal" world maps to come across an upside down one. The most surprising thing was that I found it surprising. It is completely artificial that we have North at the top of a map.
The convention came a few centuries ago when Northern hemisphere, European navigators started using the North star and the magnetic compass. Before that, the top of the map was to the East which is where the word orientation comes from.

Hard to believe that I'd not only been educated into one stereotype about maps, but even after learning that stereotype had failed to spot the other one.
I'm interested in Upsidedown Maps because they make me rethink the world. It's important to remember that there are people all over it. Since hanging one on my wall I've learnt geography again. You can reevaluate the world from scratch, as if it was a brand new alien landscape.
Indonesia looks like by far the most interesting place from orbit.