Medieval Arabic geographical literature seems to portray the Maghreb as a liminal space on the fringes of the Dār al-Islām, far from the centers of caliphal power. This geographical and political marginalization fostered its depiction as a territory particularly prone to the emergence of legendary or marvelous tales (ʿaǧāʾib). By analyzing various geographical sources and compilations of wonders from the ninth to thirteenth centuries, this presentation seeks to explore how the Maghreb’s wondrous imaginary was constructed through the diverse accounts which authors included in their works. This territory will be presented as a “narrative space” in which historical, cultural and social reality, legends, and oral tradition converge, revealing how medieval geography not only mapped territories but also articulated memories, fears and wonders on the margins of the Islamic world. 

This scientific outreach activity is the result of the coordinated research project MAGNA II: “Transits and transformations in the Maghreb space and population” (TRAMAGHIS. PID2021-122872NB-C21 and DIANA. PID2021-122872NB-C22), financed by MICIN/AEI/13039/501100011033 and the ERDF. A Way to Make Europe. 

Cristina Franco Vázquez earned her PhD from the University of Salamanca, with a dissertation titled “The Fantastic and Intangible Maghreb: A territory of legends and traditions through Medieval Arab geography (ninth–thirteenth Centuries),” in which she researched the intangible cultural heritage of the Maghreb region between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. She is a researcher with the ESARIS (Arab and Islamic Studies) Group at the University of Salamanca, as well as with the Society and Geography of the Maghreb Group at the University of Alcalá. She has completed national and international research stays in Algeria and France. As a result of her work, she has had several publications in historiography, iconography and symbolism.