Muqdisho's namesake

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

The Malagasy alphabet has 21 letters found in the English alphabet. Malagasy lacks C, Q, U, W, and X. Thus "Madagascar" is not a Malagasy word -- as Peter Tyson points out -- since Malagasy lacks "c" and all words end in a vowel. The Malagasy word for their country is "Madagasikara," a name in itself that is somewhat unwarranted. Tyson explains that Marco Polo, the European explorer who never actually saw the island but named it, probably confused the island with the Somali town Mogadishu and corrupted the name as "Madagascar." Malagasy themselves called Madagascar Nosin-dambo, Izao tontolo, or Ny aninvon' ny riaka.

 

Xigasho

Madagascar gets its current name from Marco Polo, (1254 — 1324), the Venetian explorer, who described an African island of untold wealth called Madeigascar in his memoirs (1298 - 1320). Polo heard about the island second-hand during his travels in Asia (1271 - 1295). Most scholars believe that he described Mogadishu, the port located in present-day Somalia. Nevertheless, Italian cartographers attached the name "Madagascar" to the island during the Renaissance.

 

Xigasho II

Marco Polo (1298) heard rumors of the mysterious land as he crossed Arabia. He was told of "the biggest and best [island] in the whole world" by Islamic traders (Shoumatoff 1988: 5 1).

Polo is often credited with naming the island as he supposedly confused the island with other Arabic descriptions of Mogadishu and bestowed it with its name, Madagascar.

 

Xigasho III

[Chimera]

Kublai khan traded with Mogadishu and Marco Polo was for years a guest of this Mongol Emperor's court so that theory of Madagascar being a corruption of Mogadishu is very plausible

[Jacpher]

Interesting. Does the name Moqdisho has any meaning?

[rudy-Diiriye]

its actually arabic and means maqcida al shah. the name was during ibn batutas days...15/16 century.

[Jacaylbaro]

looooool@maqcida al shah ..... very close indeed

 

 

Meesha shaaheeda kamabaan helin ,, how come it can be a maqcida al shah bal ?

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Originally posted by Jimcaale:

Interesting. Does the name Moqdisho has any meaning?

"The meaning of Mogadishu's name is uncertain. Some render it as a Somali version of the Arabic "maqad shah," or "imperial seat of the shah," thus hinting at a Persian role in the city's founding." [Source]

 

There is also a clip [i think it is this

, though not that certain since the speaker is not working] on Youtube by the respected Canadian Islamic scholar C/llaahi Xakiim Quick where he explains meanings behind some far and wide certain regions that Muslims have landed. Included was Muqdisho [same explanation as given above], Hawaii, Siberia, Burtuqiiska and others -- all which are based original Carabi words. The most surprising for me was the Siberia origining from a Carabi word.

 

Also, Jimcaale, Muqdisho relating to ancient Persian people, it is not that impossible. In fact, the other word associated with Xamar -- Banaadir -- too is a Persian origin. Banaadir derives from the Persian word for port -- bandar.