History Main / ArabianNightsDays

* The Gerudo from ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda]]'' (debuting in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'') series seem to be ''very loosely'' based off of this trope, where the harem girls ''are'' thieves. Also, their king, Ganondorf, happens to be the main antagonist in the series, and he happens to be skilled with sorcery. The Gerudo are a OneGenderRace, save for on emale born every 100 yers, though in some games, it has been milenia since a male Geru was last seen, so the harem girls are now the ''entire population'' of their desert town.[[note]]Incidentally, this is the base of the only jewellery store in Hyrule, thereby keeping the link to treasure and gemstones with this setting.[[/note]] though [[LadyLand men aren't allowed beyond the gates]]. Additionally, Gerudo soldiers and travelers are often seen wielding scimitars.

* The Gerudo from the ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Legend of Zelda]]'' (debuting in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'') series seem to be ''very loosely'' based off of this trope, where the harem girls ''are'' thieves. Also, their king, Ganondorf, happens to be the main antagonist in the series, and he happens to be skilled with sorcery. The Gerudo are a OneGenderRace, save for on emale born every 100 yers, though in some games, it has been milenia since a male Geru was last seen, so the harem girls are now the ''entire population'' of their desert town.[[note]]Incidentally, this is the base of the only jewellery store in Hyrule, thereby keeping the link to treasure and gemstones with this setting.[[/note]] though [[LadyLand men aren't allowed beyond the gates]]. Additionally, Gerudo soldiers and travelers are often seen wielding scimitars.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

%%* ''Anime/CosPrayers'': Reim's costume.

* The 2019 film revival of ''[[Film/Aladdin2019 Aladdin]]'', like [[{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}} its animated original]]. And, of course, numerous other live-action adaptations of the "{{Literature/Aladdin}}" story, of which there are too many to possibly list. Very rarely, if ever, does a cinematic Aladdin actually live in China, where his story nominally takes place, and even then China likely referred to the nation's far western borderlands that are dominated by Muslims, Persian and Turkic people, ''not'' Han Chinese far away on the other side of the country. Indeed, West China, which connected the Han to the Muslim and Central Asian world, was still seen as exotic by Middle Eastern people as much as it was seen as a frontier by the Chinese. As for the film, it alluded to a ''South'' Asian nation where this version of Jasmine's mother was from, and the film's use of Bollywood tropes also nudged towards how India and the Middle East cyclically influenced each other culturally.

Arabia: The land of Ali-Baba, genies, [[BellyDancer belly dancers]], sheikhs, Sultans, [[EvilChancellor evil Grand Viziers]] ([[TheGoodChancellor as well as some good ones]]), [[LovableRogue dashing thieves]] and [[RoyalHarem harem girls]]. When Western Europe was having its [[DarkAgeEurope Dark Age]], the Islamic world was living it up in a Golden Age, both preserving and enhancing humanity's store of knowledge.

Arabia: land of Ali-Baba, genies, [[BellyDancer belly dancers]], sheikhs, Sultans, [[EvilChancellor evil Grand Viziers]] ([[TheGoodChancellor as well as some good ones]]), [[LovableRogue dashing thieves]] and [[RoyalHarem harem girls]]. When Western Europe was having its [[DarkAgeEurope Dark Age]], the Islamic world was having its Golden Age, both preserving and enhancing the knowledge of civilization.

Here, the Middle East is depicted as a wondrous region full of magic and mystery, inspired by the artistic and scientific legacies of figures such as Golden Age caliph [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_al-Rashid Harun al-Rashid,]] revolutionary surgeon [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Zahrawi al-Zahrawi,]] and "father of algebra" [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Musa_al-Khwarizmi Muhammad al-Khwarizmi.]] Expect to see [[ShiningCity glittering cities]] crowded with secrets and intrigue, striking figures who practice distinct customs, and exotic landscapes foreign to most Western audiences.

Mostly based on the Muslim world which stretched from Southern Europe and North Africa all the way to South Asia during the Middle Ages. Expect for sprawling deserts to be omnipresent, despite the fact that people from some parts of the region (ex. Portugal, Turkey, and Bangladesh) lived ''nowhere'' close to a desert. Maritime Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia), while a bastion of Islam nowadays, is excluded as it wasn't part of the Muslim world in the Middle Ages.[[note]]While Islam's presence there is OlderThanTheyThink, it only became the dominant religion in the 16th century.[[/note]]

Historically, as noted above, this time period is analogous to the DarkAgeEurope of the 7th to the 11th century, though this is rarely referenced (and sometimes outright contradicted).

Sometimes this trope is instead based on the 16th-19th centuries' Ottoman Empire. This type of Arabian Nights Days tends to put less emphasis on magic and more [[{{Fanservice}} on harem girls]].

This trope can be a form of CulturalBlending, as the "Islamic world" was (and is) home to various different cultures and languages, such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and many others.

* The whole planet of [[DeathWorld Zahhak]] from ''Literature/AvestaOfBlackAndWhite'' has an Arabian theme going on as it's [[PlanetOfHats hat]] mostly thanks to its current ruler [[TheHedonist Kaikhosru]], complete with deserts, Arabian styled architecture and BedlahBabe's.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': In the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, the participant [[FatBastard Pintar]] has an outfit similar to the Mid-Eastern style of the trope.

Here, the Middle East is depicted as a wondrous region full of magic and mystery, inspired by the artistic and scientific legacies of figures such as Golden Age caliph [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_al-Rashid Harun al-Rashid,]] revolutionary surgeon [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Zahrawi al-Zahrawi,]] and "father of algebra" [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Musa_al-Khwarizmi Muhammad al-Khwarizmi.]] Expect to see glittering cities crowded with secrets and intrigue, striking figures who practice distinct customs, and exotic landscapes foreign to most Western audiences.

* Creator/RayHarryhausen's trilogy of films about Literature/SinbadTheSailor - ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'', ''Film/TheGoldenVoyageOfSinbad'', and ''Film/SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger'' - all start out in this type of setting, although being SeaStories, they spend a lot of time on the open ocean, with a third act on some IslandOfGiantHorrors or LostWorld.

* The ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' movie "Anime/DoraemonNobitasDorabianNights" where they head to a storybook world of Arabian Nights.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' campaign setting. Thematically the land of Zakhara is a blend of the historical Muslim Caliphates, the stories of legend, and a wealth of Hollywood cinematic history.