In The Great Khan’s Tent Episode XXII: The Arabian Nights Part XX

In the Great Khan’s Tent

In this Episode, we conclude the story “The Story told by the Jewish Physician” continuing with Night XXVIII and begin the story “The Story told by the Tailor” in Night XXIX and Night XXX. I will have to say at the outset that the story told by the Tailor and the character of the Barber which features in this cycle of stories is one of my favorite characters in the One Thousand and One Nights.

What becomes evident, though told in a humorous manner, is that the level of education and prominence of the multiple fields of study one would have undertake to be considered as being on the same “educated” level of the Barber. The fields of knowledge which the barber lists, such as morphology, rhetoric, knowledge of the religious texts and of the Qu’ran all in there way speak to the educational environment available for the populace if they had time and the money, although there was free education as well, to employ the best teachers in all these fields.

The main character who is telling this story, is once again to no ones surprise, a son of a merchant, who much like the protagonist in the Jewish Physician’s story, suffers from some sort of event which causes him to become lame. As we continue on with this story, we may find out, in a hilarious manner, of why the protagonist suffered from the Barber and became lame.

On a different note, as we reach the one year anniversary of In The Great Khan’s Tent in September, there will be a plethora of episodes to celebrate this momentous occasion including Part III of our Special Episode series focusing on the history of the One Thousand and One Nights and other special episodes released for this occasion. Be sure to check us out!