Ramadan Arabian Nights 2025 : The Tale of Fatima, Halima and Karima “Into the cave of the Ghoul” EP.15

Ramadan Kareem.

Tonight, we will learn what Karim did in the cave of the Ghoul and how one thing leads to another.

But first, a little chitchat, and tonight's chitchat is about the recurring guest star villain of the Arabian Nights tales, the Ghoul.

The ghoul (الغول) is a supernatural creature from pre-Islamic Arabian folklore, often depicted as a monstrous, shape-shifting being that lurks in desolate places, preying on travelers and consuming human flesh. While the legend is deeply embedded in Islamic folklore and 1001 Nights, its origins may trace back to ancient Mesopotamia.

The Gallu demons of Sumerian and Akkadian mythology were terrifying spirits that dragged victims to the underworld, often associated with wilderness and destruction—similar to how the ghoul was feared for lurking in abandoned ruins and deserts.

Additionally, the Mesopotamian Edimmu, restless spirits of the unburied dead, shared the ghoul’s eerie connection to graveyards and the afterlife.

Over time, the ghoul evolved into a prominent figure in Arabic folklore, blending influences from earlier Mesopotamian myths with local Arabian superstitions.

Though ancient Egypt did not have an identical creature, it had Ammit, the "Devourer of the Dead," who consumed the hearts of the impure, reflecting a similar fear of being devoured as punishment.

And that’s it for our chitchat.

So without further delay, here is the 687th episode of our Arabian Nights Egyptian radio show—or the 15th night in this year’s tale, The Tale of Fatima, Halima, and Karima.

Episode 15: Into the cave of the Ghoul

When it was the eighty-seventh night after the six hundredths, and in it the following night, King Shahryar took his seat as he had the previous evening. He had barely settled in when Scheherazade arrived and assumed her usual place. With the gentlest of gestures and the most eloquent of words, she began to recount, as if offering him a cup of the finest wine:

"It has reached me, O wise and fortunate King, that when Kareema returned, Rima met her with great displeasure, scolding her for the delay and for spending the dark hours of the night away from her family’s home. But Kareema, undeterred, responded and began to explain to her and her sisters all that she had witnessed with her own eyes—the fall of her spindle into the ruined courtyard beside their house, the strange wonders she had seen within those forsaken walls, and the hidden world of the jinn that lay beyond them. She told them, too, of the treachery of the sultana and the fate she had prepared for the sultan."

As Kareema spoke, Rima, along with Halima and Fatima, listened with wide-eyed astonishment, their curiosity growing with every word. Kareema, caught between excitement and disbelief, said:

Kareema: "I only went down to fetch my spindle—I never imagined such a thing could happen!"

Halima: "Something this strange, sister? No wonder you were so late! Ruins and crumbling walls, and yet within them, a king and a sultan? And the deeds of the sultana—treachery and betrayal! After all the kindness he showed her, after raising her status… Didn’t you say she was once just a servant? And when his wife died, he took her as his own. And how did she repay him? Every night, she drugged his drinking bowl, waited for him to slip into unconsciousness, then gathered the food and crept away to meet her lover, committing her crime in the darkness!"

Fatima: "May ruin be upon her! To abandon the sultan for a ghoul—a ghoul named Bahloul! That cannot be!"

Rima: "Can it be true or can it not? Speak at once!"

Kareema: "You still don’t believe me, aunt?"

Rima: "Go on, go on, sister! Yes, and then? Where were we when you hid behind the curtain as she made her way to the cave?"

Kareema: "As she walked, an apple slipped from her grasp and rolled near my feet. By the grace of the Almighty, she did not see me. She was blind to my presence, and so I followed her from a distance, determined to see how her story would unfold. I trailed her through the shadows until she reached the lair of the ghoul—the one called Bahloul. There, she knocked upon the cave’s door and called out…"

And so, we return to the night before, to the cave in the land of the jinn…

Sultana Marjana: "Bahloul! Open up, Bahloul!"

Bahloul: "Ah, Marjana, you have arrived at last!"

Marjana: "At once, Bahloul!"

Bahloul: "Where is my drink? Where is my feast?"

Marjana: "I have brought you the entire spread, its dishes overflowing!"

Bahloul: "But you have yet to tell me of Sultan Jolan—what news of the King of the Jinn?"

Marjana: "Sultan Jolan lies in a drunken slumber. I do not understand, Bahloul—why do you hesitate? Why do you block my path? What prevents you from letting me finish him and his children?"

Bahloul: "And what would you do with them, his children?"

Marjana: "One lies sick in bed, and the other has fled!"

Bahloul: "Fled—or merely in hiding?

Marjana: Do you doubt my love?"

Bahloul: "Why do you question me? Are we not speaking of one thing while you speak of another?"

Marjana: "Enough, enough! Do not upset yourself, nor upset me beside you. But tell me, have you not noticed? You have not yet eaten!"

Bahloul: "True, I have not eaten."

Marjana: "Then wait—I shall feed you with my own hand. Eat, my love, eat."

And Kareema, hidden in the shadows, whispered to herself as she witnessed the treachery of Marjana and Bahloul:

Kareema (to herself): "Betrayal and conspiracy—betrayal and conspiracy! What have I stumbled upon? What am I to do? I only came down for my spindle, and now… should I march straight into the ghoul’s den?!"

Meanwhile, Marjana poured a drink for her lover, her voice dripping with deceit.

Marjana: "Drink, Bahloul, drink!"

But Kareema could not stand silent any longer.

Kareema (to herself): "All this, and the Sultan knows nothing! What should I do? Why am I hesitating? Let fate decide—I shall strike them with this very apple in my hand and leave the rest to destiny!"

With that, Kareema hurled the apple with all her might, striking Bahloul the ghoul straight in the eye.

Marjana (roaring in pain): "Oooowaaaahhh! Ah! What is this?! Who dares throw an apple at me?! Bahloul—someone is here with us!"

Seizing her chance, Kareema fled, her heart pounding, whispering to herself as she ran:

Kareema: "I must hide—up that tree!"

Marjana and Bahloul frantically searched the darkness for the unseen intruder, but Kareema remained unseen, tucked away among the branches. She stayed hidden until the first light of dawn broke the sky, and only then did she climb down, thanking the heavens for her escape. She ran straight home, where her sisters and her stepmother awaited her.

Kareema: "I hid without them sensing me, remained still among the branches until the first light of dawn. And when the morning came, I climbed down, thanked my Lord, and returned home to tell you everything. So—what do you think? If only you had been there with me!"

Fatima: "Had you not brought back this apple as proof, we might not have believed you!"

But Reema’s face darkened with doubt.

Reema (angrily): "You believed her? And why, pray tell, are we indulging in these fairy tales? If she hadn’t brought back that apple, would you still have fallen for her nonsense? By the heavens, girls these days do as they please, spin their wild tales, and march into our home with stories that should earn them nothing but a broken neck!"

Fatima: "That’s uncalled for, Auntie."

Reema: "Is it now, sister?"

Haleema: "Please, just calm down."

Reema: "Calm down?! Oh, what shame, what disgrace! Where shall I hide my face? No matter—I shall teach you discipline, since your father failed to do so. Hand me that apple she brought! I will get to the bottom of this. I must find out who gave it to her. But first—where is that scoundrel, Meshkaah? You! Yes, you—Meshkaah!"

And so the grave-robber, Meshkaah, came forward as Reema recounted Kareema’s tale in a voice thick with disbelief. But to her frustration, Meshkaah did not gasp or frown—instead, he burst into laughter.

Reema (furious): "And what, pray tell, is so amusing, Meshkaah?"

Meshkaah (grinning): "Those ruins? Oh, I know them well—I’ve spent many a night among them, till the moon grew weary of my presence!"

Reema: "So then—was Kareema lying?"

Determined to prove the girl a fraud, Reema grabbed Meshkaah by the arm and marched him to the ruins.

Meshkaah: "Well, there you have it—the ruins, just as I told you. Now tell me, do you see a palace? A cave? A hidden garden?"

Reema (stammering): "This… this is the place?"

Meshkaah: "Indeed it is—the very same alley, the very same ruins. And yet, not a single orchard, not a single cavern in sight."

Reema: "So tell me then, where did Kareema spend her night?"

But Meshkaah merely smirked and his voice dripping with amusement.

Meshkaah: "Girls like these? As sweet as honey, as lovely as roses—ah, where else would such beauty be found?"

Reema (warningly): "Meshkaah…"

Meshkaah: "Reema…"

Reema: "I swear, you wretch, if I catch you so much as looking at them—!"

Meshkaah (grinning): "By their beauty alone, I dare not even lift my eyes."

And so, just as Reema was about to threaten Meshkah if he continued flirting with the girls, she suddenly heard the call of an apple seller.

Apple Seller: "I sell apples, fresh all morning long! Apples like no other, half peach, half apple!"

Meshkah: "Reema, did you hear that?"

Reema: "Did you hear what he said? 'Apples like no other, half peach, half apple'!"

Meshkah: "Ah… ah… ah…"

Reema: "Hey, apple seller! Morning breeze, fresh cheeks! Tell me, do you really have apples?"

Apple Seller: "Mmm..."

Reema: "Half peach, half apple?"

Apple Seller: "Your eyes can see it, and its name tells you what it is. Look at this!"

Reema: "It really is an apple that’s half peach and half apple! And how much are you selling this for?"

Apple Seller: "I sell it for a story."

Reema: "For a story?"

Apple Seller: "Whoever tells me a tale gets an apple, but not just any tale—it has to be a true story!"

Reema (confidently): "Oh, it's true, all right! Here, take this!"

She handed him the apple she had taken from Kareema.

Apple Seller (examining it closely): "Oh, oh! This is one of our apples! Bought and sold, fair and square! Now, tell me your story—how did this apple come to you?"

Reema (evasively): "It's an apple and that's that! Meshkah, run and bring more apples!"

Apple Seller: "More, you say?"

Reema: "So we have proof and evidence! Don't take too long, Meshkah!"

Apple Seller: "Now, tell me the tale of this apple!"

Reema: "And what do I get in return?"

Apple Seller: "Anything you ask for!"

Reema: "Fine, listen up, my good man."

Apple Seller: "I'm listening."

Reema: "One night, we had no oil to light the lamp and brighten the house."

Apple Seller: "Go on…"

Reema: "But that night, the moon was shining bright, and since I love to stay up late…"

Apple Seller: "Yes, yes…"

Reema: "I went up to the rooftop to spin my thread."

Apple Seller: "Yes, yes!"

Reema: "I sat on the edge of the wall, spinning away."

Apple Seller: "Yes?"

Reema: "And as I was sitting there, my spindle slipped from my hands and fell below. I thought, 'What should I do now?' So I climbed down to get it before it got lost among the ruins and walls."

Apple Seller: "Alright…"

Reema: "That’s when I stumbled upon a garden and saw the queen feeding the sultan."

Apple Seller (eagerly): "And then? And then?"

Reema: "After they finished their meal, the sultan went to bed."

Apple Seller: "Alright, alright! Keep going!"

Reema: "Before he went to sleep, he asked for a basin of water."

Apple Seller: "Yes, yes?"

Reema: "I saw the queen take out a vial from her chest, pour a few drops into the basin…"

Apple Seller: "Into the basin… and then?"

Reema: "And when the sultan fell into a deep sleep, she gathered the food and took it to the ghoul called Bahloul!"

Apple Seller (furious): "BAHLOUL?!"

Reema (nervously): "Why are you getting so angry?"

Apple Seller: "Just tell me what happened next!"

Reema: "I threw an apple at her—one that had fallen from her—and it hit her right in the eye! Oh, woe to her! Woe to her fate!"

Apple Seller (with a menacing tone): "Do you know who you're talking to?"

Reema (hesitant): "Who…?"

Apple Seller: "I am Sultan Jolan, King of the Jinn! If your story turns out to be false, I’ll bury you in the ruins! Come with me!"

Reema: "Wait—wait!"

And with that, Sultan Jolan swept Reema away to the land of the jinn, where he hid her away until…

And here, Scheherazade realized the dawn had come, and she fell silent, leaving the tale untold.

Here is the 15th episode of our tale televised

Till next night inshallah

You can check previous Ramadan Arabian Nights here.

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