Old Arabian Tales

The Arab world's greatest folk stories re-imagined by the acclaimed Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh, published to coincide with the world tour of a magnificent musical and theatrical production directed by Tim Supple

"The Arabian Nights," also known as "One Thousand and One Nights," is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales and stories compiled and translated by various authors over centuries. While Andrew Lang is known for his colorful translations of folklore, he is not the primary translator or compiler of "The Arabian Nights." The collection is derived from various sources and has been translated by many individuals over time. "The Arabian Nights" includes famous tales such as "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp," "Sindbad the Sailor," and many others. These stories are set in the Islamic Golden Age and feature a mix of adventure, fantasy, and romance. They have had a profound influence on world literature and storytelling. Andrew Lang, a Scottish author and folklorist, is better known for his collections of fairy tales, including the "Colored Fairy Books" series. While he contributed to the world of folklore and fairy tales, his work primarily consisted of translations and adaptations rather than being the principal translator or compiler of "The Arabian Nights."

Almost three centuries have passed since the oldest manuscript of The Thousand and One Nights arrived in Europe. Since then, the Nights have occupied the minds of scholars world-wide, in particular the questions of origin, composition, language and literary form. In this book, Muhsin Mahdi, whose critical edition of the text brought so much praise, explores the complex literary history of the Nights, bringing to fruition the search for the archetype that constituted the core of the surviving editions, and treating the fascinating story of the growth of the collection of stories that we now know as The Thousand and One Nights.

This is the first volume and includes a collection of 24 memorable Arabian old stories.

Tahir Shah’s The Caliph’s House, describing his first year in Casablanca, was hailed by critics and compared to such travel classics as A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun. Now Shah takes us deeper into the heart of this exotic and magical land to uncover mysteries that have been hidden from Western eyes for centuries.… In this entertaining and penetrating book, Tahir sets out on a bold new journey across Morocco that becomes an adventure worthy of the mythical Arabian Nights. As he wends his way through the labyrinthine medinas of Fez and Marrakesh, traverses the Sahara sands, and tastes the hospitality of ordinary Moroccans, Tahir collects a dazzling treasury of traditional stories, gleaned from the heritage of A Thousand and One Nights. The tales, recounted by a vivid cast of characters, reveal fragments of wisdom and an oriental way of thinking that is both enthralling and fresh. A link in the chain of scholars and teachers who have passed these stories down for centuries like a baton in a relay race, Shah reaches layers of culture that most visitors hardly realize exist, and eventually discovers the story living in his own heart. Along the way he describes the colors, characters, and the passion of Morocco, and comes to understand why it is such an enchanting land. From master masons who labor only at night to Sufi wise men who write for soap operas, and Tuareg guides afflicted by reality TV, In Arabian Nights takes us on an unforgettable journey, shining a light on facets of a society that are normally left in darkness.

Discover mystery and wonder in Tales from theArabian Nights. The next elegant edition in the Knickerbocker Classic series, Tales from the Arabian Nights is comprised of twenty-one of the most popular tales that were told by Scheherazade to her husband, King Shahryar, in the course of 1,001 nights in order to save her life. Dating over a thousand years, with origins from Persia, India, Egypt, and Mesopotamia, among others, the stories include "The Tale of Scheherazade," "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp," and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves." For folktale fans worldwide, this stunning gift edition has a cloth binding, ribbon marker, and is packaged neatly in an elegant slipcase. Featuring a new introduction, 24 color illustrations by Edmund Dulac, and the classic translation by Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), this volume of Tales from the Arabian Nights is an indispensable classic for every home library.

Every night for three years the vengeful King Shahriyar sleeps with a different virgin, executing her the next morning. To end this brutal pattern and to save her own life, the vizier's daughter, Shahrazad, begins to tell the king stories of adventure, love, riches and wonder - tales of mystical lands peopled with princes and hunchbacks, the Angel of Death and magical spirits, tales of the voyages of Sindbad, of Ali Baba outwitting a band of forty thieves and of jinnis trapped in rings and in lamps. The sequence of stories will last 1,001 nights.

Great Stories in Easy English. Recommended for the age group of 7-9 yrs