Why do we 'orient' a map towards north?

You’re a peein’? ‘The orient’ used to be anything east of Europe

'Orienting' a map, and the practice of 'orienteering' comes from the fact that East, or the Orient, was placed at the top of some early maps.

Many medieval European maps pointed towards Jerusalem, such as this example from the Hereford Cathedral in England.

Read more

• ‘Maps have north at the top but it could have been different’ - BBC

• Hereford Mappa Mundi - Wikipedia

Image credits: Public Domain - unesco.org.uk. Hereford Mappa Mundi (world map), displayed at the Hereford Cathedral, England.