ne morning in 852 CE, a man climbed to the top of a minaret of a large mosque in Cordoba.He was already well known as a poet, astronomer, musician, engineer, scientist and inventor.The man was Abbas Ibn Firnas and he was attempting to fly.The crowd that shad gathered below were eagerly watching and waiting to see what would happen.The minaret shone in the sun and the crowd fell silent as the man stretched open his arms and prepared to jump.