One Thousand and One Nights. Arabic Tales

“One Thousand and One Nights” is a collection of tales, stories, and narratives, collectively created by the entire Arab nation. Here, there are stories about genies, magic lamps, and flying carpets, as well as sea voyages and even ‘detective’ stories. However, they are interesting not only because of their gripping plots. They describe the details of urban life in the Arab East, the customs of its inhabitants, and information from various historical and geographical works. Most importantly, behind all of this lies a subtle Eastern wisdom. The English writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton said of “One Thousand and One Nights”: “…The infinity of tales is nothing but an infinite desire to enjoy earthly life.” And indeed, it is in the enjoyment of earthly existence, in the intoxication of the countless manifestations of human and natural life forces, that the eternal charm of these fairy tales lies, captivating generations of readers of this wonderful book. This edition features selected tales in the classic retelling of a renowned translator and orientalist.