A player/role-player's view:
I, like the original poster, need a map. This is not to necessarily say that my 'character' will have complete knowledge of an area, but it keeps my player frustration to a minimum.
Especially in a perma-death situation, I will rarely (if ever) explore a game that doesn't provide me-the-player with some sort of terrain map.
Often times, building terms are very general. In a recent game, I came across a sentence explaining about a cliff to the south. I-the-player don't know if that cliff is one move south (close), two moves south (a bit of a jaunt away), or more moves south (on the horizon). Especially when one 'move' can mean a single step, a city block, five miles, whatever.
In my opinion, not having a map also limits many role-play choices. Because of my lack of OOC knowledge (or my-the-player's inability to 'visually' see directions and where they may lead) I can not role-play that hermit who has lived over yonder in those woods since he was a wee laddy (and would technically know them pretty darn well).
Let me decide how much of a challenge I want. If I want (or need) a map to enjoy your game, let me have one. People play MUDs for different reasons, and feel challenged in many different ways. For me, spending two days trying to find my character's way through some winding city is NOT enjoyable. It just makes me want to throw my keyboard at ye ol' monitor.
~SS~
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