The 1001 Nights Podcast

The 1001 Nights Podcast is a collaborative online storytelling website featuring 25 retellings of Nights-related stories. They seemed to stop making new ones in 2015 but you can still listen to all of the old podcasts here  -

http://www.1001nightspodcast.com/

Kamel Kilani - Abu Sir and Abu Qir

Here is an uploaded version of the story (in Arabic) "Abu Qir the Dyer and Abu Sir the Barber" by Egyptian children's author Kamel Kilani. The story is originally found in Calcutta II.

كامل كيلاني..ابو صير و ابو قير

Free Online Versions of the Nights

I'm going to add to this over time (and put a link to this page on the main blog menu on the right) as I come across them but this page is a list of links to freely accessible well known versions of the 1001 Nights.

English Versions:

- Wollamshram.ca - This website has complete versions of the following: 1. Richard Burton's complete 16 volume set (including hyperlinked footnotes), 2. Jonathan Scott's 1890 version, 3. JW Scott's Jack Hardin's Arabian Nights (1903), 4. John Payne's 9 volume Nights, his Tales from the Arabic and his Alaeddin, 5. WF Kirby's The New Arabian Nights (1883), 6. Andrew Lang's Arabian Nights (1898), 7. Edward Lane's Arabian Nights (1909 - edited by Stanley Lane-Poole), 8. E. Dixon's Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights (1893) and More Tales (1895) and several other derivative versions and single stories. The best source for English versions online and collected in one place.

link: http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/index.htm



- Little Hunchback. From the Arabian Nights Entertainments. In Three Cantos (1817). This is a three canto poem derived from the Hunchback story of the Nights, published first in London, England.

link: http://www.archive.org/stream/littlehunchbackf00londiala#page/n0/mode/2up



Spanish:

Las mil y una noches - Translated by Vicente Blasco Ibanez. According to the Arabian Nights Encyclopedia the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez is said to have been inspired by this particular version (p. 561 vol. 2).

Link: http://es.wikisource.org/wiki/Las_mil_y_una_noches




Arabic Versions:

Calcutta II online

Thanks to Moti (>http://moti-kagan.blogspot.com) for passing on the online version of Calcutta II of the Arabian Nights (1001 Nights) linked below, free and complete and in Arabic with a nice looking script too.

Unfortunately the book is scanned backwards! And it starts with the last page!

I'll try to contact Google books about it.

Here is the link to the Calcutta II online version:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=COgNAAAAYAAJ




Bulaq - 


Here is the 1863 Bulak Edition of Alf Laila wa Laila complete and online for free (in Arabic):

Volume one:

http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail01bulauoft

Volume two:

>http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail02bulauoft

Volume three:

>http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail03bulauoft

Voume four:

>http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail04bulauoft

Les Mille et une nuits, contes arabes - Antoine Galland

Archive.org has most of the old 1001 Nights scanned and readable either online or wherever you want to download them to (or print them).

Here are 9 volumes of Galland's Les Mille et une nuits, contes arabes - (French):


Volume One:

link: http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenu00unkngoog



Volume 2:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui02galluoft

Volume 3:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui03galluoft

Volume 4:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui04galluoft

Volume 5:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui05galluoft

Volume 6:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui06galluoft

Volume 7:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui07galluoft

Volume 8:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui08galluoft

Volume 9:

http://www.archive.org/details/lesmilleetunenui09galluoft

Classic Comics - Arabian Nights - No. 8

Here's the entire version of the Classic Comics Arabian Nights that someone has uploaded on scribd.

I find the story fascinating in terms of its portrayal, or lack really, of Scheherezade. In this retelling of the frame story of the Nights Shahriar is just killing brides for no reason and just appears to be crazy for no reason: "so cruelly fanatic" is the only one given.

He sees Scheherezade and marries her but she comes up with a plan to tell her father stories (not her sister) in earshot of the Shahriar.

Here's the comic, which includes, of course, Ali Baba, Sinbad and Aladdin (click 'full screen' to read it better):

Arabian Nights (Classics Illustrated)

Sinbad Radio Show

Here is an old radio show archived online with Basil Rathbone as Sinbad. The Internet Archive is really amazing, I hope it turns people away from cable TV and this stuff becomes popular again.

Here is the recording:



Here is the website with the full playlist:

http://www.archive.org/details/otr_columbiamasterworksbasilrathbone

Burton Translated

Xah Lee - a Nights fan and English teacher has an interesting website featuring Burton's expurgated version of the Nights with unusual Burtonesque words highlighted and defined on the side panel. Well worth a look:

http://xahlee.org/p/arabian_nights/index.html

More Comic Covers

JC, who maintains the best website for online versions of the 1001 Nights in English (he has Burton, Scott, Payne, Lang, Lane and others free and in their entirety at http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/index.htm) sends along some more comic book covers and more information about the "Classics" series.

Marvel Comics - "Marvel Classic Comics" #30 - "Arabian Nights"
featuring Ali Baba, Sinbad and Aladdin



Classic Comics #8 (US) - Second Cover (first cover is at my other post here: http://journalofthenights.blogspot.com/2009/04/classic-comics-illustrated-8-cover.html) - less smoke and more shading here:



Classics Illustrated Cover #8 (secondary manifestation, new cover, US):




Classics Illustrated Cover #8 (UK Version):

1001 Nights Comic Free Online

The new series by Zenescope comics called "1001 Arabian Nights" recently released issue #8, Adventures of Sinbad, for free online at the link below:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=2335&disp=table

I always pictured Sinbad to be of slight build, the simple trader/anti-hero hero, but here he is mega-man complete with muscles and tattoos and busty comic fantasy women sidekicks.

Jack Ross also has a great article on comic/manga/graphic novel/etc. versions on his blog at: http://mairangibay.blogspot.com/2009/01/arabian-nights-comics-graphic-novels.html

Alf Laila wa Laila Radio Shows Online

Moti passes this link to the Internet Archive which features scores of radio shows from Egypt centered around tales from the 1001 Nights.

Even if you don't speak Arabic they will be nice to listen to the rhythms and rhymes of the stories and the storytellers.

Link:

http://www.archive.org/details/ArabianNights_Radio_Of_Cairo

Calcutta II online

Thanks to Moti (>http://moti-kagan.blogspot.com) for passing on the online version of Calcutta II of the Arabian Nights (1001 Nights) linked below, free and complete and in Arabic with a nice looking script too.

Unfortunately the book is scanned backwards! And it starts with the last page!

I'll try to contact Google books about it.

Here is the link to the Calcutta II online version:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=COgNAAAAYAAJ

1863 Bulak Online

Here is the 1863 Bulak Edition of Alf Laila wa Laila complete and online for free (in Arabic):

Volume one:

http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail01bulauoft

Volume two:

>http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail02bulauoft

Volume three:

>http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail03bulauoft

Voume four:

>http://www.archive.org/details/alflailwalail04bulauoft