The following two very early woodcut religious maps of Eastern Mediterranean have been published in France, in the middle of 16th century, in the turmoil of the Reformation. They are among the very first religious maps ever published. [Postel Guillaume]: Descriptio Regionem et Locorum de quibus in Act. Apostolorum .. [Paris 1553/1554]. Fine woodcut map of Eastern Mediterranean, 22x16,5cm in a sheet of 30x24cm (with geographical measurements), folds as issued, old restoration of a marginal tear, very good condition. Postel (1510-1581), a French astronomer, diplomat, cartographer and religious universalist, travelled widely in the Levant. After his second return in 1551, published a large map of the Levant, no copies survived. Only this reduced format survived, published separately to be inserted in a Bible publication in Paris. As can be seen, it is quite accurate with mid 16th century standards. A quite big, disproportionate, Cyprus lays in its middle, as well as Rhodes. Postel spent months in Cyprus and knew the island. The map had tremendous success, as Postel was regarded with huge respect during his time and it had been republished later in several editions of Bibles (Zacharakis 236a etc,under later editors names). This is the first religious map with accurate, for its time, data inserted as geographical measurements, in an appendix to the map. Very rare.