# Magic carpet

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Magic_carpet
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Magic_carpet.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_carpet
> Source revision: 1356858567
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

For other uses, see [Magic carpet (disambiguation)](/source/Magic_carpet_(disambiguation)).

"Flying carpet" redirects here. For other uses, see [Flying carpet (disambiguation)](/source/Flying_carpet_(disambiguation)).

A **magic carpet**, also called a **flying carpet**, is a legendary [carpet](/source/Carpet) and common trope in [fantasy](/source/Fantasy) [fiction](/source/Fiction). It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its user(s) to their destination.

## In literature

[One of the stories](/source/Ahmed_and_Paribanou) in the *[One Thousand and One Nights](/source/One_Thousand_and_One_Nights)* relates how Prince Husain, the eldest son of [Sultan of the Indies](/source/List_of_One_Thousand_and_One_Nights_characters#Sultan_of_the_Indies), travels to Bisnagar ([Vijayanagara](/source/Vijayanagara)) in India and buys a magic carpet.[1] This carpet is described as follows: "Whoever sitteth on this carpet and willeth in thought to be taken up and set down upon other site will, in the twinkling of an eye, be borne thither, be that place nearhand or distant many a day's journey and difficult to reach".[2] The literary traditions of several other cultures also feature magical carpets, in most cases literally flying rather than instantly transporting their passengers from place to place.

[Solomon](/source/Solomon)'s carpet[3] was reportedly made of green silk with a golden weft, 60 miles (97 km) long and 60 miles (97 km) 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](/source/Damascus) and supped in [Media](/source/Media_(region)).[4] The [wind](/source/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.[5] The carpet was shielded from the sun by a canopy of birds."

In Shaikh [Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Tadifi al-Hanbali](/source/Hanbali_(nisba))'s book of wonders, *Qala'id-al-Jawahir* ("Necklaces of Gems"), Shaikh [Abdul Qadir Gilani](/source/Abdul_Qadir_Gilani) walks on the water of the river [Tigris](/source/Tigris), then an enormous prayer rug (*[sajjada](/source/Prayer_rug)*) appears in the sky above, "as if it were the flying carpet of Solomon [*bisat Sulaiman*]".[6]

In Russian folk tales, [Baba Yaga](/source/Baba_Yaga) can supply [Ivan the Fool](/source/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](/source/Viktor_Vasnetsov) illustrated the tales featuring a flying carpet on two occasions.

In [Mark Twain](/source/Mark_Twain)'s "[Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven](/source/Extract_from_Captain_Stormfield's_Visit_to_Heaven)", magic wishing carpets are used to instantaneously travel throughout Heaven.

[Poul Anderson](/source/Poul_Anderson)'s *[Operation Chaos](/source/Operation_Chaos_(novel))* features a world making extensive use of [magic](/source/Magic_(paranormal)) in daily life, and among other things having flying carpets as a common, non-polluting means of transportation - in fierce competition with the also available [flying brooms](/source/Broom#Magic). Travelers need not sit on the bare carpet itself, as the carpet serves as the platform for a comfortable cabin.

Magic carpets have also been featured in modern literature, movies, and video games, and not always in a classic context.

In "[traditional Chinese](/source/Chinese_literature) [fantasy literature](/source/Fantasy_literature)" from the late [Qing dynasty](/source/Qing_dynasty) and before, [sentient](/source/Sentience) flying carpets were thought to be "[magical](/source/Magic_(supernatural)) [monsters](/source/Monster)" in the same category as the [long](/source/Chinese_dragon), [qilin](/source/Qilin), or [clouds](/source/Cloud) for heroes to traverse distances with.[7]

In [Taoism](/source/Taoism) and Taoist art, flying carpets were used as poetic metaphors for the ability of flight *[xian](/source/Xian_(Taoism))* had.[8]

In [Tibetan](/source/Tibetan_Buddhism) [Tantric Buddhism](/source/Vajrayana), a paper carpet were thought to be able to fly for "adept[s]".[9]

## See also

- *[The Phoenix and the Carpet](/source/The_Phoenix_and_the_Carpet)* – 1904 children's novel by [E. Nesbit](/source/E._Nesbit)
- *[Old Khottabych](/source/Old_Khottabych)* – 1938 Soviet children's book and later 1956 film with the depiction of a flying carpet
- "[Magic Carpet Ride](/source/Magic_Carpet_Ride_(Steppenwolf_song))" – 1968 song by [Steppenwolf](/source/Steppenwolf_(band))
- *[Asterix and the Magic Carpet](/source/Asterix_and_the_Magic_Carpet)* – 1987 illustrated comic story book on the adventures of [Asterix](/source/Asterix), [Obelix](/source/Obelix) and [Cacofonix](/source/List_of_Asterix_characters#Cacofonix) in [India](/source/India)
- *[King Solomon's Carpet](/source/King_Solomon's_Carpet)* – 1991 novel by [Barbara Vine](/source/Barbara_Vine) about the [London Underground](/source/London_Underground)
- *[Magic Carpet](/source/Magic_Carpet_(video_game))* – 1994 video game featuring flight and combat in a realm of magic and monsters

## Notes

1. *[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable](/source/Brewer's_Dictionary_of_Phrase_and_Fable)*, p. 305, 1894.

1. Burton, Richard, *The Thousand Nights and a Night*, Vol. 13, 1885.

1. Retold for children by [Sulamith Ish-Kishor](/source/Sulamith_Ish-Kishor), *The Carpet of Solomon: A Hebrew Legend*, 1966.

1. [*The Jewish Encyclopedia*: "Solomon: Solomon's carpet"](http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=S&artid=894#2945)

1. *[The Jewish Encyclopedia](/source/The_Jewish_Encyclopedia)*, *ibid*.

1. [Qala'id-al-Jawahir *book 6*](http://www.al-baz.com/shaikhabdalqadir/Books_and_Text_of_Wisdom/Qala_id_Al-Jawahir/6_-Qala_id_Al-Jawahir/6_-qala_id_al-jawahir.htm)

1. Jiang, Qian (2013). "Translation and the Development of Science Fiction in Twentieth-Century China". *[Science Fiction Studies](/source/Science_Fiction_Studies)*. **40** (1): 124. [doi:10.5621/sciefictstud.40.1.0116](https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.40.1.0116). [ISSN 0091-7729](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0091-7729). [JSTOR 10.5621/sciefictstud.40.1.0116](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5621%2Fsciefictstud.40.1.0116)

1. Carlson, Kathie; Flanagin, Michael N.; Martin, Kathleen; Martin, Mary E.; Mendelsohn, John; Rodgers, Priscilla Young; Ronnberg, Ami; Salman, Sherry; Wesley, Deborah A. (2010). *The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images*. Arm, Karen; Ueda, Kako; Thulin, Anne; Langerak, Allison; Kiley, Timothy Gus; Wolff, Mary (eds.). Köln: [Taschen](/source/Taschen). p. 595. ISBN 978-3-8365-1448-4.

1. Carlson, Kathie; Flanagin, Michael N.; Martin, Kathleen; Martin, Mary E.; Mendelsohn, John; Rodgers, Priscilla Young; Ronnberg, Ami; Salman, Sherry; Wesley, Deborah A. (2010). *The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images*. Arm, Karen; Ueda, Kako; Thulin, Anne; Langerak, Allison; Kiley, Timothy Gus; Wolff, Mary (eds.). Köln: Taschen. p. 594. ISBN 978-3-8365-1448-4.

## External links

- [The secret history of the Flying Carpet](http://www.museum.com/ja/showdia/id=2685) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20051121073841/http://www.museum.com/ja/showdia/id=2685) 2005-11-21 at the Wayback Machine

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Magic carpet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_carpet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_carpet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.