The events that take place in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves happen in the Persian town of Ababrakhabakebab (pronounced Ababrakhabakebab). Ababrakhabakebab is situated 30 miles north west of Ababarbararnogebabrbabrbarbak and 50 miles south of Asfahagahafgaf. And for those that don't know their Middle East from their elbow, Persia is the country that we now know as Iran. Ababrakhabakebab is famous for its market, held every day of the week apart from weekends, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and sometimes not on Wednesdays and Mondays if the traders don't feel like it. It was voted the Persian Town of Cultural and Artistic Excellence in the year 807 and hosted the 821 Arabian Winter Games. Ababrakhabakebab is a peaceful town, although it does have a well-documented crime problem, most notably caused by a group of forty thieves who hide their stolen jewels and gems in a secret cave.
While studying Persian culture and society during the Abbasid era as part of my research for
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, I uncovered an ancient document relating to Ababrakhabakebab. Unfortunately it was written in Arabic. Fortunately, part of my research was also to learn Arabic. I found out that the document was actually a tourist information leaflet for visitors to Ababrakhabakebab. And below is my translation of this leaflet.
It is actually quite a while now since I learned Arabic, so my translation skills are a little rusty, but you should get the general idea of what the ancient document was trying to say.
As Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is set in olden times, the town of Ababrakhabakebab no longer has a presence in modern-day Iran, nor do the nearby towns of Ababarbararnogebabrbabrbarbak or Asfahagahafgaf. This has sometimes led in the past to accusations that I have actually made these places up. Although I understand the reasoning behind these accusations, let it be said here and now that the existence of the aforementioned places with long and difficult to spell and pronounce names truly did exist in the Iran of ancient times. And if you don't believe me, check Wikipedia.....
If you're still reading, you've either decided not to check Wikipedia or have been there and come back after finding out that the articles about Ababrakhabakebab, Ababarbararnogebabrbabrbarbak and Asfahagahafgaf have all been removed. For political reasons apparently. Oh well, they weren't very exciting and contained lots of inaccurate information anyway, so it's probably for the best.
As this little mini-site exists mainly (well, purely) to promote Caverswall Palace's version of
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, this is the ideal place to state that if you want to find out more about Ababrakhabakebab and Persian life in general in olden days, then
purchasing a copy of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is a perfect way to do so. Somebody I once knew said, "I thought I'd been transported to a different time and place when I read
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. I really felt I was in Persia and was about to get robbed by forty criminals at knife-point. While flipping through its pages, I could almost smell the aromatic Persian spices." That was probably more to do with the fact that I'd dropped curry on my copy of the book before lending it to them, but since it helped to create an authentic atmosphere, it probably wasn't a bad thing. Unfortunately, although I have asked, the people who print my book now won't dip it in curry before dispatching it. So, if you would like to purchase a curry-free copy of
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, simply click here, or on the book icon at the top of the page, and prepare to be whisked away to the exotic page where you can
buy the book.
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