PAL

Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus

_ (the underscore) is the placeholder for exactly one character.
% (the percent sign) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character.
%% (two percent signs) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character, but not for blank space (so that a search ends at word boundaries).

At the beginning and at the end, these placeholders are superfluous.

πρὸς μεσημβρίαν‘towards the south’

Greek

References: Alm. Heiberg: I.5, 19:11; II.6, 108:5-6
Translated into:
Arabic: إلى الجنوب [Alm. MS Tunis: ]
Arabic: من ناحية الجنوب [Alm. MS Tunis: 23b.28]
Arabic: إلى ناحية الجنوب [Alm. MS Leiden: f. 18r]
Modern translations:
English: towards the south [Alm. Toomer: 42]