Orient cycle

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Classic book edition of Through the Desert and Harem (1892), renamed Through the Desert in 1895

The so-called Orient Cycle is a series of novels by the writer Karl May . The underlying stories were published, sometimes with interruptions, between 1881 and 1888 in the magazine Deutscher Hausschatz in words and pictures by Friedrich Pustet in Regensburg.

Travel stories

In 1892, Friedrich Ernst Fehsenfeld agreed with the then 49-year-old Karl May that these episodes , which were published under the title Travel Memories from the Turkish Empire (also Giölgeda padişhanün “In the Shadow of the Grand Lord ”), would be the first volumes of the planned collected travel novels (so the original title) to surrender. Each volume should be around 640 pages long, which is why May himself revised and divided the magazine versions for this:

Through the desert and harem (renamed through the desert in 1895 )

  • Abu en Nassr (1881)
  • The Chikarma (1881)
  • Abu-Seïf (1881)
  • A desert battle (1881)
  • The Merd-es-Scheïtan I (1881)

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Kara Ben Nemsi and his servant and later friend Hajji Halef Omar ride through the Sahara of Tunisia . They find the body of a murder victim, the French merchant Paul Galingré, and pursue the murderer Hamd el Amasat and his companion to the Chott el Djerid . Omar Ben Sadek's father is killed by Hamd el Amasat, the son continues to pursue the murderer, while Kara and Halef stay behind in Kbilli.

In the second adventure on the Nile , Kara frees Senitza, a Montenegrin woman, who was held captive by Abrahim-Mamur . He escapes with her to Cairo and hands her over to her fiancé Isla Ben Maflei, who had previously looked for her in vain. Abrahim-Mamur therefore becomes his mortal enemy, whom he meets again later.

On the journey through the Red Sea , the two companions are captured by the pirate Abu Seïf, are able to free themselves and move to Mecca. Among the Bedouin tribe of the Ateïbeh, Halef falls in love with Hanneh, Sheikh Malek's granddaughter , whom he marries. Abu Seïf, who tracked them down, is killed by Halef in a duel. Halef stays with the Ateïbeh, Kara moves on.

In the Dschesireh Kara Ben Nemsi meets the quirky Englishman Sir David Lindsay on the Tigris and rides with him to the Haddedihn . There he meets Halef again, who joins the Haddedihn with the Ateïbeh. Kara helps them against their enemies in a great battle and receives the Rappen Rih for this. He frees three Yazidis and promises Mohammed Emin , the Sheikh of the Haddedihn, to kidnap his son from Turkish custody. On the ride to Amediye they decide to help the Yazidis against a Turkish troop.

  • Delivery booklet with the original title (from 1892)

  • Delivery booklet with the new title (from 1895)

  • Classic book edition with the new title (from 1895)

  • Kara Ben Nemsi (left) and the Pasha of Mosul, postcard (1898)

Through wild Kurdistan

  • The Merd-es-Scheïtan II (1881)
  • The Ruh 'i Kulyan (1881)
  • Travel adventure in Kurdistan (1881–1882)

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With the support of Kara Ben Nemsi and his travel companions Halef Omar, David Lindsay and Mohammed Emin, the Yazidis defeat the Turks. On the onward journey, Kara receives the dog Dojan as a present in a Kurdish village. In Amediye , the Turkish fortress where Amad el Ghandur is imprisoned, they can kidnap him and flee with him to the north to Kurdistan . There they have some adventures with hostile Kurds and Nestorians . With the help of the mysterious Marah Durimeh , they bring peace between the warring tribes. Marah Durimeh gives Kara an amulet that is supposed to protect him and later render valuable services.

  • Classic book edition (from 1892)

  • Sascha Schneider edition (1904)

  • Kara Ben Nemsi heals a sick person, illustration (1907)

From Baghdad to Stambul

  • The Caravan of Death (1882)
  • In Damascus and Baalbeck (1882–1883)
  • Stambul (1883)
  • The last ride I (1884)

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In a fight between Turkmen and Kurds, the tour group around Kara Ben Nemsi gets between the fronts and Mohammed Emin falls in the fight. The Persian Hassan Arjir-Mirza, whom they support against his enemies, becomes their companion to Baghdad . There the Persian is betrayed and murdered together with his wife and sister. Kara and Halef contract the plague from a death caravan and barely get away with their lives. Dojan is shot by robbers.

In Damascus they discover Abrahim Mamur robbing a jeweler and pursue him - but he can flee by ship to Constantinople (called Stambul by May, see Istanbul # development of the name ). There they meet with Omar Ben Sadek, the son of the murdered salt lake guide, who, together with Kara, tracks down a trail of a widespread band of robbers. The leader of this gang is the mysterious Schut . Abrahim Mamur is one of them, is surprised by Omar and thrown from the Galata Tower . Osko, Senitza's father, joins the group and together they chase after the robbers and murderers. A note found points them deep into the Balkan Mountains .

  • Delivery booklet (from 1892)

  • Classic book edition (from 1892)

  • Sascha Schneider edition (1904)

  • Kara Ben Nemsi and the Koehler Allo, illustration (1908–1909)

In the gorges of the Balkans

  • The Last Ride II (1885–1886)
  • Through the Land of the Skipetars I (1888)

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In the Balkan Mountains, they follow the trail of criminals who want protection. They fight with some of the robber's helpers, Kara Ben Nemsi is lured into a trap, but Halef is able to free him from the hut of the alleged beggar and gang member Saban. In Melnik they find the persecuted and other allies of the Schut and escape another attack on their lives. In Ostromdscha they get to know the alleged saint Mübarek , who is a dangerous criminal under his pious mask. You become suspicious and watch him closely.

  • Classic book edition (from 1892)

  • Classic book edition (from 1898)

  • Sascha Schneider edition (1906)

  • Kara Ben Nemsi and Hajji Halef Omar , postcard (1898)

Through the land of the Skipetars

  • Through the Land of the Skipetars II (1888)

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The Mübarek is exposed and continues to flee with the other gang members. In the pursuit, Kara Ben Nemsi collides with the Alajys, two giant Skipetaren brothers and robbers. He can flee, but is lured into the "Schluchthütte" and locked up with his companions. They fight their way free, injuring the Mübarek and killing two others. Her new companion, the tailor Suef, also turns out to be a gang member. Kara Ben Nemsi is ambushed by the brother of one of the murdered criminals, but is able to overcome his desire for blood revenge through his generosity. The persecutors avoid a poison attack with the help of a young servant. Treska-Konak turns out to be the target of the hunt for the Schut and his gang .

  • Classic book edition (from 1892)

  • Classic book edition (from 1898)

  • Sascha Schneider edition (1904)

  • Kara Ben Nemsi and Haji Halef Omar, postcard (around 1900)

The Schut

  • Through the Land of the Skipetars III (1888)
  • Appendix (1892)

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Halef is captured and freed by Kara Ben Nemsi. The severely injured Mübarek is found in the hut of the soot and coal merchant Junak, but a bear kills him. The companions are said to be lured by Junak into the alleged "jewel cave" in the Devil's Gorge, discover the betrayal and take the criminals prisoner. The fleeing Barud el Amasat is caught and killed by Osko. Kara learns the Schut's real name, Kara Nirwan, who is a rich cattle dealer from Rugowa. Sir David Lindsey, who traveled to meet them on his own, is said to be locked up in the cave by the criminals, but is freed. When the friends are attacked, the two Alajys are mutilated by Kara and incapacitated.

In Rugowa they expose the rubbish and penetrate the tunnel system under his house. There they discover and free the merchant Henri Galingré, the father of Paul Galingré, who was murdered in the Sahara. The riot flees and meets with Hamd el Amasat, who is planning another crime against the Galingré family. On the run, the riot falls into the "traitor crack" and Hamd el Amasat is blinded by the blood avenger Omar Ben Sadek. The companions separate and travel back to their respective homeland, Halef receives Rih as a present from Kara Ben Nemsi.

In the appendix (see below) Karl May describes another journey Kara Ben Nemsi made to the Haddedihn. He and Halef accompany Sheikh Amad el Ghandur on a train to his father's grave. They are ambushed by the Kurds and Rih is shot. After returning to the Haddedihn, Amad renounces his sheikh dignity and Halef's father-in-law Malek becomes the new leader of the tribe.

  • Classic book edition (from 1892)

  • Classic book edition (from 1898)

  • Sascha Schneider edition (1905)

  • The Schut falls into the depths, postcard (around 1900)

May rewrote the appendix contained in the sixth volume for the book edition in order to obtain a sufficient number of pages for this volume. The original version of Die Tschikarma (Volume 1) appeared as early as 1876 under the title Leïlet or Die Rose von Kahira during the festivities at the domestic stove . Here the first-person narrator is anonymous and not yet Kara Ben Nemsi.

Others

Volume 60 of the Collected Works with the title Allah il Allah comes from Franz Kandolf and is a revision of the May text The Queen of the Desert . This chapter from the Münchmeyer- Colportageroman Deutsche Herzen, Deutsche Helden (1885-1887 by Münchmeyer, 1901 by Adalbert Fischer) was removed by Karl May Verlag 1928-1931 and used to fill the geographical gap between Abu en Nassr and Die Tschikarma . There was also the possibility of closing the Orient cycle with an episode in Jerusalem.

With the novel hunt the prey caravan created Edmund part a continuation of the novel Allah il Allah .

In 2000, the Karl May Verlag published the novel Die Oase des Scheitans by Jörg Kastner , who developed a prehistory to the Orient cycle and a. describes getting to know Kara Ben Nemsi and Hajji Halef Omar. August 2010 a new version of this novel was published under the title Hadschi Halef Omar by Karl May Verlag.

Radio play versions

In 1964, the WDR produced through the desert under the direction of Manfred Brückner as a 7-part radio play . The radio processing came from Walter Jensen . It was first broadcast between December 12, 1964 and March 6, 1965.

The main characters spoke:

In 2006, the director Walter Adler implemented the Orient cycle as a radio play for WDR . Starring said Sylvester Groth , in other roles were Thomas Thieme , Udo Kroschwald , Volkert Kraeft , Jürg Löw , Matthias Koeberlin and Werner Wölbern heard.

literature

  • Dieter Sudhoff , Hartmut Vollmer (Hrsg.): Karl May's Orient Cycle, In: Karl May Studies. Vol. 1; also in: Series Literature and Media Studies. 10. Paderborn 1991
  • Lothar and Bernhard Schmid (eds.): The cut diamond. Karl May's Collected Works. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg, Radebeul 2003, ISBN 3-7802-0160-7 , pp. 341-486, especially pp. 348-353.
  • Ekkehard Koch: Between Manitou, Allah and Buddha. The non-Christian religions in Karl May , in: Christoph F. Lorentz (Hrsg.): Between heaven and hell. Karl May and religion. Second, revised and expanded edition , Bamberg / Radebeul 2003, pp. 239–337, esp. Pp. 260–307: Mohammed, Mekka and Koran .
  • Rudi Schweikert : "Pierer" sweets. Adopted from the lexicon in Karl Mays Through the Desert, Through Wild Kurdistan and From Baghdad to Stambul . Special issue of the Karl May Society No. 137/2007.
  • Svenja Bach: Karl May's image of Islam and its influence on its readers. Special issue of the Karl May Society No. 142/2010 (online version) .
  • Thomas Kramer : "Joseph and his brothers", Kara Ben Nemsi and theirs. A comparative hero's journey to the myth of Karl May and Thomas Mann , in: Yearbook of the Karl May Society 2016, pp. 131–188.
  • Rudolf Lüthe : Places of Longing. Notes on cultural philosophy and reception theory on Karl May's “Orient Cycle” , in: Jb-KMG 2016, pp. 271–282.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Hermesmeier, Stefan Schmatz: Origin and expansion of the collected works. A success story for 110 years. In: Lothar and Bernhard Schmid (eds.): The polished diamond. Karl May's Collected Works. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg / Radebeul 2003, ISBN 3-7802-0160-7 , pp. 346-349.
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Hermesmeier, Stefan Schmatz: Origin and expansion of the collected works. A success story for 110 years. In: Lothar and Bernhard Schmid (editors): The cut diamond. Karl May's Collected Works. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg, Radebeul 2003, ISBN 3-7802-0160-7 , p. 351.
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Hermesmeier, Stefan Schmatz: Origin and expansion of the collected works. A success story for 110 years. In: Lothar and Bernhard Schmid (editors): The cut diamond. Karl May's Collected Works. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg, Radebeul 2003, ISBN 3-7802-0160-7 , pp. 460–461.
  4. ↑ Wolfgang Hermesmeier, Stefan Schmatz: Origin and expansion of the collected works. A success story for 110 years. In: Lothar and Bernhard Schmid (editors): The cut diamond. Karl May's Collected Works. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg, Radebeul 2003, ISBN 3-7802-0160-7 , p. 447.
Works by Karl May


Early work (1875–1883)

The Book of Love  • Geographical sermons (in “ Schacht und Hütte ”) • The two Quitzow's last voyages  • Caught on the sea  • Scepter and hammer  • In the far west  • The Ranger  • The Jewel Island
Groups of shorter texts: adventure stories (including Old Firehand  • The Oil Prince ) • Erzgebirge village stories  • Stories about the old Dessauer  • Historical stories  • Humoresques

Colportage novels (1882–1888)

The forest rose  • The Uhlan's love  • The lost son  • German hearts - German heroes  • The way to happiness

Travel stories (1892–1899)

Through the desert and harem ( through the desert ) • Through wild Kurdistan  • From Baghdad to Stambul  • In the gorges of the Balkans  • Through the land of the Skipetaren  • The Schut  • Winnetou I – III  • Oranges and dates  • On the Pacific Ocean  • On the Rio de la Plata  • In the Cordillera  • Old Surehand I  • Old Surehand II  • In the land of the Mahdi I – III  • Old Surehand III  • Satan and Ischariot I – III  • On strange paths  • “Christmas!”  • In the realm of the silver lion I- II  • On the afterlife
special case: The rose of Kaïrwan

Youth narratives (1887–1897)

The son of the bear hunter  • The spirit of the Llano estakado  • Kong-Kheou, the word of honor ( The blue-red Methuselah ) • The slave caravan  • The treasure in the Silver Lake  • The legacy of the Inca  • The oil prince  • The black mustang
Groups of shorter texts: illustration texts  • Texts below the pseudonym Hobble-Frank

Late work (1900–1910)

Heavenly thoughts  • In the realm of the silver lion III  • Erzgebirge village stories  • In the realm of the silver lion IV  • And peace on earth!  • Babel and the Bible  • Ardistan and Jinnistan I – II  • Winnetou IV  • My life and striving

Other works (1896–1912)

The joys and sorrows of a widely read person  • Serious sounds (contains, among others, Ave Maria ) • Three questions of humanity  • Sitara, the land of the human  soul • Up into the realm of noble men

Film adaptations of the works and life of Karl May


cinemamovies

On the ruins of paradise  (1920) • The death caravan  (1920) • The devil worshipers  (1920) • Through the desert  (1936) • The slave caravan  (1958) • The lion of Babylon  (1959) • The treasure in the Silver Lake  (1962) • Winnetou Part 1  (1963) • Old Shatterhand  (1964) • The Schut  (1964) • Winnetou Part 2  (1964) • Among Vultures  (1964) • The Aztec Treasure  (1965) • The Pyramid of the Sun God  (1965) • The Oil Prince  (1965) • Through wild Kurdistan  (1965) • Winnetou 3rd part  (1965) • Old Surehand 1st part  (1965) • In the realm of the silver lion  (1965) • The legacy of the Inca  (1966) • Winnetou and the Half-blood Apanatschi  (1966) • Winnetou and his friend Old Firehand  (1966) • Winnetou and Shatterhand in the valley of the dead  (1968) • The trail leads to the Silver Lake  (1990) • WinneToons - The legend of the treasure in the Silver Lake  (2009)

Television series and films

With Karl May in the Orient  (1963) • Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi  (1973/75) • My friend Winnetou  (1980) • The bush ghost  (1986) • Hello - here Karl May / Bärenstark  (1987) • Prairie hunters in Mexico  (1988) • Winnetou  (1996) • Winnetou's Return  (1998) • WinneToons  (2002) • Winnetou - The Myth Lives  (2016)

Adaptations of the biography

Acquittal for Old Shatterhand  (1965) • Karl May  (movie, 1974) • Karl May  (TV series, 1992)