AZERBAIJANI REALITIES MANIFESTED IN “ONE THOUSAND AND A QUARTER OF AN HOUR. TATAR TALES”

Abstract

At the beginning of the 18th century a new literary trend with an Eastern orientation was emerging in Europe, especially in French literature. This innovation began when Antoine Gallen first translated “One Thousand and one nights” into French in 1704, and Western readers showed great interest in that ancient Arabic monument. As orientalists and translators of the time saw that Arab tales that caused a stir in Europe were loved and gained with fame, they turned to Eastern sources and tried to create new translated works in this style. Over time, the readers, who were impressed by the tales about the mysterious Eastern environment, eagerly waited for the continuation of the topic, and deeply sympathized with the new works created in the example of “One Thousand and one nights”. As a result of contemporary studies, it has become clear that the mentioned examples are not independent works, but imitations of translations. One of the translation imitations created within the framework of that period, when such a literary trend flourished, is “One Thousand and a quarter of an hours. Tatar tales”. This article entitled “One Thousand and a quarter of an hours. Tatar tales” illuminates a number of important points related to the history, geography, culture and literature of Azerbaijan.