Arabian Nights: 213th Night: Anis al Jalis, The Slave Girl -13

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Nur al-Din saw the Captain standing in the middle of the ship, saying, "O merchants, has anyone of you anything else to do in the city?  Think whether you have forgotten anything."

"O captain we have nothing else to do," came the answer.

Nur al-Din Ali and Anis al Jalis got on board of the ship, and came to understand that the ship was going to Baghdad.

Meanwhile, in the home city of Nur al-Din Ali, the Mamluks came in search of them, and they searched throughly the house of Nur al-Din Ali, then demolished it to rubble.  Then, they returned to the king, and informed of what they had done.

The king said, "Search him everywhere, and bring him to me."

He bestowed upon the vizier a rob of honour, and sent him home with comforting words.  Then the king issued a proclamation against Nur al-Din Ali, and the criers proclaimed throughout the city, "O you people, it is the will of King Muhammad ibn-Sulaiman al-Zainabi that whoever brings the vizier's son Nur al-Din Ali to the king shall receive a robe of honour and one thousand dinars.  He who hides him or looks the other way knows what will happen to him."

Meanwhile Nur al-Din and Anis al Jalis sailed on before a fair wind, and they reached Baghdad, the city of Peace.  The captain said to him congratulations.  Baghdad was a city teeming with people, and full of life, fair and peaceful.  Winter has departed with its frost and spring has arrived with its flowers.  Nur al-Din gave the Captain five dinars and disembarked with Anis al Jalis.

They wandered about and came to an alley surrounded by gardens.  They were well swept, watered and well maintained. There were long benches, hanging cooling pots full of cold water, and a hanging trellis, which ran the whole length of the alley and led to the garden gate, which was shut.  Nur al-Din said to his wife, "O Anis, this is a nice place."

"O my lord, let us sit down on this bench, for a while," said Anis al Jalis who was tired by a long, tiresome and anxiety ridden journey.  Thus, they sat on a bench.  They washed their faces and drank some water.  A cool breeze swept over the garden.  A variety of sounds, the warbling, chirping, twitter, and the cooing of birds, and the murmur of streams lingered, and they began to feel drowsy and fell asleep.

The garden belonged to the Caliph Harun al Rashid and it was called Garden of Delight. To the Palace of statues in the Garden, the Caliph used to come and while away time when he feels depressed.  Eighty windows and eighty hanging lamps surround the garden, each pair flanking a candelabrum holding large candles. Caliph used open all windows at the time of his visit. The candelabrum were lighted on the order of Ishak al Nadim to sing for him, while he sat surrounded by concubines of all races.

The keeper of the garden was an old man, Shaik Ibrahim, a man for whom the Caliph felt great affection.  Whenever Shaik Ibrahim went out on some business in the city, he would find a group of pleasure seekers, and their whores congregating at the garden gate, and this used to pain him and make him angry.  But he waited patiently until one day the Caliph.....

But morning overtook and Shahrazad lapsed into silence.

Notes:-

1. Ishak al Nadim: A famous musician and virtuoso of the lute who used to entertain Harun al Rashid.