Magic carpet
Encyclopedia
A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet
that can be used to transport
persons who are on it instantaneously or quickly to their destination.
Solomon
's carpet was reportedly made of green silk with a golden weft, sixty miles long and sixty miles wide: "when Solomon sat upon the carpet he was caught up by the wind, and sailed through the air so quickly that he breakfasted at Damascus
and supped in Media
." The wind
followed Solomon's commands, and ensured the carpet would go to the proper destination; when Solomon was proud, for his greatness and many accomplishments, the carpet gave a shake and 40,000 fell to their deaths. The carpet was shielded from the sun by a canopy of birds. In Shaikh Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Tadifi al-Hanbali's book of wonders, Qala'id-al-Jawahir ("Necklaces of Gems"), Shaikh Abdul-Qadir Gilani walks on the water of the River Tigris, then an enormous prayer rug (sajjada) appears in the sky above, "as if it were the flying carpet of Solomon [bisat Sulaiman]".
In Russian folk tales, Baba Yaga
can supply Ivan the Fool
with a flying carpet or some other magical gifts (e.g., a ball that rolls in front of the hero showing him the way or a towel that can turn into a bridge). Such gifts help the hero to find his way "beyond thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-ten kingdom". Russian painter Viktor Vasnetsov
illustrated the tales featuring a flying carpet on two occasions (illustrations, to the right).
In Mark Twain
's "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven
", magic wishing-carpets are used to instantaneously travel throughout Heaven.
In J. K. Rowling
's book Quidditch Through the Ages
, it is said that flying carpets are more popular than broomsticks among wizards in countries such as India
, Pakistan
, Bangladesh
, Iran
and Mongolia
.
Carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
that can be used to transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
persons who are on it instantaneously or quickly to their destination.
In literature
The popularity of One Thousand and One Nights brought the idea of the magic carpet to the attention of Western audience. In these tales the magic carpet of Tangu, also called "Prince Housain's carpet" was a seemingly worthless carpet from Tangu in Persia that acted as a magic carpet. The literary traditions of several other cultures also feature magical carpets.Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
's carpet was reportedly made of green silk with a golden weft, sixty miles long and sixty miles wide: "when Solomon sat upon the carpet he was caught up by the wind, and sailed through the air so quickly that he breakfasted at Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and supped in Media
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
." The wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
followed Solomon's commands, and ensured the carpet would go to the proper destination; when Solomon was proud, for his greatness and many accomplishments, the carpet gave a shake and 40,000 fell to their deaths. The carpet was shielded from the sun by a canopy of birds. In Shaikh Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Tadifi al-Hanbali's book of wonders, Qala'id-al-Jawahir ("Necklaces of Gems"), Shaikh Abdul-Qadir Gilani walks on the water of the River Tigris, then an enormous prayer rug (sajjada) appears in the sky above, "as if it were the flying carpet of Solomon [bisat Sulaiman]".
In Russian folk tales, Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
can supply Ivan the Fool
Ivan the Fool
Ivan the Fool or Ivan the Ninny is a character used in Russian folklore, a very simple-minded, but nevertheless lucky young man. Ivan is described as a likeable fair-haired and blue-eyed youth....
with a flying carpet or some other magical gifts (e.g., a ball that rolls in front of the hero showing him the way or a towel that can turn into a bridge). Such gifts help the hero to find his way "beyond thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-ten kingdom". Russian painter Viktor Vasnetsov
Viktor Vasnetsov
Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov , 1848 — Moscow, July 23, 1926) was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He was described as co-founder of folklorist/romantic modernism in the Russian painting and a key figure of the revivalist movement in Russian art.- Childhood ...
illustrated the tales featuring a flying carpet on two occasions (illustrations, to the right).
In Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven
Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven
"Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven" is a short story written by American writer Mark Twain, published in 1909. This was the last story published by Twain.-Description and Plot Outline:...
", magic wishing-carpets are used to instantaneously travel throughout Heaven.
In J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
's book Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
, it is said that flying carpets are more popular than broomsticks among wizards in countries such as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
.
In popular culture
Magic carpets have also been featured in modern literature, movies, and video games, and not always in a classic context.- In his comic fairy taleFairy taleA fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
Prince PrigioPrince PrigioPrince Prigio is a literary and comic, fairy tale written by Andrew Lang in 1889, and illustrated by Gordon Browne. It draws in Lang's folklorist background for many tropes. This story was republished by Little, Brown and Company in 1942, with illustrations by Robert Lawson, and by David R...
, Andrew LangAndrew LangAndrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
makes one of the hero's christening gifts a magic carpet. - A magic carpet is featured in the film The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and its remake The Thief of Bagdad (1940).
- Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
's Operation Chaos features an alternate America in which flying carpets are a major form of transportation, along with brooms. - In Super Mario Bros. 2Super Mario Bros. 2Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
, an enemy named Pidgit rides on a flying carpet, which the player can use after defeating him. - Magic carpets are featured in the episode "Mario's Magic Carpet" from the series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
- A flying carpet is also a character (complete with personality) in the 1992 Disney film Aladdin.
- Contemporary journalists often described the 1955 Citroën DSCitroën DSThe Citroën DS is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Styled by Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body design and innovative...
automobileAutomobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
as having ride qualityRide qualityRide quality refers to the degree of protection offered vehicle occupants from uneven elements in the road surface, or the terrain if driving off-road. A car with very good ride quality is also a comfortable car to ride in. Cars which disturb vehicle occupants with major or minor road...
similar to a magic carpet. - In the novel SourcerySourcerySourcery is the fifth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, published in 1988. On the Discworld, sourcerers - wizards who are sources of magic, and thus immensely more powerful than normal wizards – were the main cause of the great mage wars that left areas of the disc uninhabitable. Men born the...
by Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, several characters use a magic carpet as a means of escape. - Mr. Popo from the famous manga and anime Dragon BallDragon Ballis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
rides a magic carpet. - Flying carpets are a mode of transportation called "Hawking mats" in the novel Hyperion by Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
. - Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
- The Ministry of Magic has made magic carpets illegal in the UK, made in a reference in the 4th book Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireHarry Potter and the Goblet of FireHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, published on 8 July 2000.The novel won a Hugo Award in 2001, the only Harry Potter novel to do so... - In the online MMORPG RuneScapeRuneScapeRuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in January 2001 by Andrew and Paul Gower, and developed and published by Jagex Games Studio. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java, and incorporates 3D rendering...
, magic carpets (made from camel hair) used to be a popular and common method of transportation around the Kharidian Desert, but lost favour after the Emir of Al Kharid, the desert town, fell to his death after mistaking an ordinary carpet for his magic one. However, certain enterprising businessmen have revived this method of travel across the expanse of the desert, for a price. - The Magic carpet also return in Sonic RidersSonic Ridersis a video game spin-off produced by Sega and developed by Sonic Team in cooperation with NowPro, for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. It is the fourth racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, preceded by Sonic Drift, Sonic Drift 2 and Sonic R.The game was released to start...
and Sonic and the Secret RingsSonic and the Secret Ringsis a video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released exclusively for the Wii on February 20, 2007 in North America; March 2 in Europe; and March 15 in Japan. It is the first Sonic game for the console, released in place of an...
. - A popular amusement rideAmusement rideAmusement rides are large mechanical devices that move people to create enjoyment. They are frequently found at amusement parks, traveling carnivals, and funfairs.-Notable types:*Afterburner*Ali Baba*Balloon Race*Booster...
which rotates riders vertically but keeps them heads-up is called "Flying Carpet". - In one episode from Baby Looney TunesBaby Looney TunesBaby Looney Tunes is a Canadian-American animated television series that shows Looney Tunes characters as toddlers. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation....
, when Daffy borrowed and used Sylvester's blanket on a slide, Daffy went airborne for a few seconds in a way resembling one riding on a flying carpet. - In the MMORPG World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, a character with a sufficient high skill in tailoring can create a flying carpet for use as a mount. - In the 1993 video game Link: The Faces of Evil for the Philips CD-i console, a supporting character known as Gwonam flies on a magic carpet in cinematic sequences and in the game itself.
- The card game Magic The Gathering included a Magic Carpet card in the Arabian Nights expansionArabian Nights (Magic: The Gathering)Arabian Nights was the fourth Magic: The Gathering set and the first expansion set. The set is composed entirely of new cards. The setting of Arabian Nights is inspired by the themes and characters of the Thousand and One Arabian Nights with some of the characters and places coming directly from...
. The Legends expansion features Al-abara's Carpet, another magic carpet. - In Glen Cook'sGlen CookGlen Cook is a contemporary American science fiction and fantasy author, best known for his fantasy series, The Black Company. Cook currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri.-Biography:...
fantasy series The Black CompanyThe Black CompanyThe Black Company is a series of fantasy novels by author Glen Cook. The series combines elements of epic fantasy and dark fantasy as it follows an elite mercenary unit, The Black Company, through roughly forty years of its approximately four hundred year history.- The Books of the North:#The...
, some of the powerful wizards known as The Taken use flying carpets both to travel long distances quickly and to gain tactical superiority in battle.
See also
- Asterix and the Magic CarpetAsterix and the Magic CarpetAsterix and the Magic Carpet is the twenty-eighth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo . It was first published in 1987...
- illustrated comic story book on the adventures of AsterixAsterixAsterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
, ObelixObelixObelix is a fictional character from the French comic book series Asterix. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his fatness, the menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman strength...
and Cacofonix in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet (FrogwaresFrogwaresFrogwares is an independent adventure game development studio, having branches in Ukraine, Ireland and France. Its president is Waël Amr.It is best known for its ongoing Sherlock Holmes series of adventure computer games starring Sherlock Holmes and Dr...
) (PC) - King Solomon's CarpetKing Solomon's CarpetKing Solomon's Carpet is a novel by Barbara Vine, pseudonym of Ruth Rendell. It is about the London Underground and the people frequenting it. Vine's novel is inhabited by ordinary passengers, tube aficionados, pickpockets, buskers, vigilantes, and children who go "sledging" on the roofs of cars...
- novel - Magic Carpet - In the Disney movie Aladdin, this character is found in the Cave of Wonders and eventually assumes an essential role.
- Magic CarpetMagic Carpet (video game)Magic Carpet is a video game released by Bullfrog Productions in 1994. A revised edition, Magic Carpet Plus, included the Hidden Worlds expansion pack which added 25 levels and a winter-themed tileset...
- video game released by Bullfrog ProductionsBullfrog ProductionsBullfrog Productions was a UK computer game developer that was founded in 1987 by Les Edgar and Peter Molyneux. The company achieved recognition in 1989 for their third release, Populous....
in 1994 and followed by a sequel Magic Carpet 2Magic Carpet 2Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds is a 1995 computer game, the sequel to the Magic Carpet. It was developed by Bullfrog and published by Electronic Arts .-Story:... - Old Khottabych, Soviet book and later 1956 film with the depiction of Flying Carpet
- Operation Magic Carpet - military operations
- SteppenwolfSteppenwolf (band)Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...
- song "Magic Carpet RideMagic Carpet Ride"Magic Carpet Ride" is a rock song written by John Kay and Rushton Moreve from the Canadian-American band Steppenwolf. The song was initially released in 1968 on the album The Second. It was the lead single from that album, peaking at No. 3 in the US, and becoming the band's second-biggest hit,...
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