(idea) by impulsenine Sat Feb 09 2002 at 5:49:24
The Orient, as a noun, is a generic term used for the Far East. From about 600 AD, Christian cartographers made T-O Maps, which looked roughly like a T inscribed in an O (see teleny's T-O Map writeup).
The Orient went on top of the map (the East was at the top), and from this practice, we gained the English word "Orient" as a verb: to position something, particularly a map, so that it faces the way that the observer faces.

Sources:
Daniel J. Boorstin's wonderful book, "The Discoverers p. 101"

Etymology rocks.
I like it! 1 C!