We begin in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, a land of desert and camels. Cheating is here "a way of life." A child learns to "guard its rights, for it is certain no one else will guard them." In this land, at the Bazaar in the city of Zanzib, from a humble booth, Abdullah buys and sells carpets for a living. He bought the booth with a little money inherited from his deceased father.
