Agrabah

"Welcome to Agrabah - city of mystery, of enchantment. And the finest merchandise this side of the River Jordan, on sale today! Come on down."

- Agrabah merchant

Agrabah is a fictional kingdom city-state located somewhere in the Middle East, possibly even Saudi Arabia or North Africa. It was the primary setting of the 1992 animated feature film Aladdin. It was also featured in the 1994 direc-to-video sequel, The Return of Jafar and the 1996 film Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

Description & History
Agrabah is an arid desert environment ruled by a Sultan, who lives in a grand palace with his daughter, the Princess Jasmine, and his Grand Vizier, Jafar. The areas surrounding the palace consist close-quartered housing and a busy marketplace where merchants ply various wares ranging from everything from fertilizer to sugar dates to the fabled Dead Sea Tupperware.

Despite the wealth of the sultanate, the people of Agrabah are largely poor. Children run the streets begging for food and street rats steal from the local merchants, oftentimes earning themselves the attention of the palace guards. One such individual was a young man named Aladdin who, along with his monkey friend Abu, caught the attention of some surly sword-wielding enforcerers after stealing a loaf of bread. When it was announced that the princess was to take a husband, in accordance with Agrabah law, many potential suitors came to the kingdom to pledge their worthiness. An entourage made their way through the central thoroughfare up to the gates surrounding the palace. This was an important spectacle, for it meant that whomever Princess Jasmine chose for a husband, would become the new Sultan.

Shortly thereafter, Jafar concocted schemes of his own to take control of the sultanate. He learned about one of Princess Jasmine's suitors - a "diamond in the rough" named Aladdin and took from him the magic lamp that contained the essence of a powerful genie. Once Jafar had possession of the lamp, he forced the genie to make him the new Sultan, as well as the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Aladdin tricked Jafar into becoming a genie himself, thus enslaving him inside the magic lamp. With Jafar out of the way, rulership over Agrabah returned to the previous Sultan.

Princess Jasmine wanted to marry Aladdin, but according to law, she could only marry a prince. The Sultan decided to exorcise his supreme power to overturn the law and thus, Aladdin and Jasmine were allowed to marry.

Later, Aladdin and Abu found the cave hideout of a bandit named Abil Mal and his cronies, who had managed to squirrel away some sizeable riches. Aladdin fell back upon his old thieving days and took their loot and redistributed it amongst the poor in Agrabah.

It was around this time that the Genie returned to Agrabah after taking some time to see the world after gaining his freedom as per Aladdin's third wish.

Points of interest

 * Cave of Wonders: The Cave of Wonders was a mystical subterranean region located some miles outside the main population center of Agrabah. The cave cannot be seen or accessed by ordinary mortals, but must in fact be summoned, by connecting to pieces of an insect-shaped medallion together. Upon doing so, the desert sands coalesce into the shape of a mountain-sized tiger's head, which can speak. The cave is filled with various treasures including a magic flying carpet and the magic lamp containing the genie. Only those whom the cave deems worthy may enter it's confines - a "diamond in the rough".


 * Crazy Hakim's Discount Fertilizer: Crazy Hakim's Discount Fertilizer was a small business owned and operated by a man who was presumably named Crazy Hakim. His fertilizer was likely made from camel dung, which he sold on a wooden cart in the bazaar. When Aladdin was outrunning the king's guards, Abu and he grabbed a carpet (not the flying one) and leaped from the top of a building upon it, gliding to safety. The pursuing swordsman could not stop in time, and they fell off the roof, crashing into Crazy Hakim's cart, destroying it.


 * Sultan's palace: The palace of the Sultan is the grandest and most opulant structure in all of Agrabah. It is the residence of the Sultan, his daughter the Princess Jasmine, her pet tiger Rajah as well as his Grand Vizier, Jafar, and Jafar's pet parrot Iago. When Jafar became Sultan, he forced the genie to tear the palace up from the desert sands and raise it high into the sky. After Jafar was defeated, all of the effects that the genie had performed on his behalf were reversed and the palace was returned back to normal.

Films that take place in

 * Aladdin (1992)
 * Return of Jafar, The (1994)
 * Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)