Strangely, most people "Orient" a map with the east on the right hand side and the Occident on the left hand side.

That is just equivalent to North pointing up. Many commenters have explained why that is the most prevalent.

I mean, except that you could of course have the subterranean view of the World, with North point up, East to the left, and West to the right, if you so like... Confusion guaranteed!