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Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing
- mcphage 10y ago> The text is probably the best known example of ‘ajā’ib or ‘jā’ib al-makhlūqāt literature, a genre of classical Islamic literature that was concerned with “mirabilia”: cosmographical and geographical topics that challenged understanding. Al-Qazwini’s treatise explored an eclectic mix of topics, from humans and their anatomy to strange mythical creatures; from plants and animals to constellations of stars and zodiacal signs. So... a medieval "Ripley's Believe It or Not"?
- Aelinsaar 10y agoYou know, I can see the appeal of this, and I live in an age of television, radio, video games and printed books. If I were a bored person a good long time ago, this might have been the one exciting and wondrous thing in your life.
- norswap 10y agoThe first thing I thought is "this is prime meme material". What has the internet done with me?
- PhasmaFelis 10y agoThe 8th image has a thing like a bird with a cat's head. My first thought was that it looks like a bat after a few rounds of the telephone game. I quite like the thing that's a complete fish, head to tail, with a surplus top-half-of-a-woman sticking out of the middle of its back. Not quite the traditional mermaid...
- nurettin 10y agoThe title ajaip al mahlukat means "strange creatures". Not "Marvels of Things created". Gharib also emphasizes "weird" so the other part of the title is better translated as "weird existences"