FLYING CARPET
Walt Disney Production House has managed to capture the attention of its audience through its various classic productions. Aladdin is one of its most successful cartoon series and has fascinated the fiction-loving minds for several years. Accompanied by his various friends, Aladdin fights the evil forces in this cartoon series. One of his faithful and dependable friends is the famous Magic Carpet, and every kid at one stage or the other, wishes to have a similar Magic Carpet that can take him or her to any portion of the world within the duration of few clock ticks.
However, the history of Flying Carpet is far more ancient that its depiction in Walt Disney cartoons. Belief in the presence of Flying Carpet has been a part of many cultures and literary works. It is depicted as a legendary carpet that can take its boarders to any place in the world in an unbelievably short time.
A flying carpet is a part of the literary traditions of various cultures. It is believed that Solomon used to command the winds. He issued commands so that winds lifted and carried his carpet to the destination he wanted. His carpet is believed to be made of green silk with a golden weft, sixty miles long and sixty miles wide. As per the traditions, he was able to travel so fast on his carpet that he used to take one meal in one corner of the world and the other meal in the second corner of the world.
In Russian folk tales, Baba Yaga provides Ivan the Fool with a flying carpet along with other gifts so as to help him find way to his destination. Russian artists have also illustrated flying carpets in their paintings.
The famous Arabic work ”One thousand and One Nights” also depicted a magic carpet. This is an old Arabic fiction work that has become highly popular amongst the readers in all parts of the world. In these tales, the magic carpet of Tangu, also called "Prince Housain's carpet" was thought to be a valueless carpet from Tangu in Persia. However, this carpet was indeed, a flying carpet with magical powers.
The concept of flying carpets has transferred from old fiction into modern stories. Mark Twain, in his famous novel “Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven” has described about a magic carpet that could take people to the heavens. J. K. Rowling, in her famous Harry Potter series, has also featured magic carpets used by the Asian wizards as substitutes for broomsticks. Similarly, in several other stories and movies, magic carpets are used as a weapon of the good against the evil.