Turkish president: Muslim sailors landed in 1178 - trumping Columbus in 1492

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Islamic sailors found the New World in 1178 and built a mosque on Cuba - and even said Columbus saw it when he showed up in 1492.His theory - which is not supported by most historians - came to light in a televised speech during an Istanbul summit of Muslims leaders from Latin America.He brought up the supposed connection in a bid to establish a long history for links between his country and the distant continent.He said: 'Contacts between Latin America and Islam date back to the 12th century. Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus.'Muslim sailors arrived in America from 1178. Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast.'He even offered to build a mosque in the country - which currently does not have any.Erdogan said: 'I would like to talk about it to my Cuban brothers. A mosque would go perfectly on the hill today.'The notion that Columbus mentioned a mosque in his diary, first floated in 1996, is widely understood to be a misunderstanding.Instead, the passage in question is thought to be metaphor which describes the shape of the land. As a Spaniard, Columbus would have been very familiar with Islamic architecture as Muslims still ruled parts of Spain during his lifetime.(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.Az