The Novel "Ali and Nino"
by Kurban Said (Pen name)

Covers Published in 33 Languages - SCROLL DOWN
The Azerbaijan International Collection

Ali and Nino by Kurban Said has been published in 33 Languages
Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Catalan, Cantonese (Chinese), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Braille, Talking Books for Blind and Dyslexic, and a Large Print Edition), Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish (also Swedish Talking Books for the Blind), Turkish, and Urdu.

See more than 95 covers below - Last updated: January 10, 2010
Latest edition: Albanian

Coming Soon! 2010! Triple issue of Azerbaijan International Magazine
Who is the Author of Azerbaijan's Most Famous Novel?
300 pages in English, 300 pages in Azeri - two separate editions.

Other articles related to Ali and Nino
1 Editorial: The World of "Ali and Nino" ­ It's Our World too! ­ Betty Blair (AI 12.2)
2 Review: Inside the Soul of a Caucasian ­ Elin Suleymanov (AI 12.2)
3 Baku City Tour: "Ali and Nino" Walking Tour - Fuad Akhundov and Blair (AI 12.2)
4 Photo Essay: Then & Now: Baku 100 Years Ago at the Peak of Oil Baron Period (AI 12.2)
5 Article: How to Collect Kurban Said's Novel "Ali and Nino" ­ Betty Blair (AI 12.3)
6 Letter to Editor: Copyright - Leela Ehrenfels (AI 12.4)
7 Letter: "Ali & Nino" Rediscovered - Ismail Kafescioglu (AI 10.3)

Click on cover to enlarge. Best viewed in Internet Explorer.
For a drama version of "Ali & Nino" in English, contact Ned Bobkoff: <nedbobkoff@msn.com>

Albanian 2009	Arabic 1970	Arabic 2003	Azeri 1972	Azeri 1990	Azeri 1993	Azeri 2004	Azeri 2006
Azeri 2006	Azeri 2007	Azeri 2008	Bengali 1995	Bengali 2003	Bengali 2004	Bengali 2008	Catalan 2001
Cantonese 2007	Czech 1939	Czech 2006	Danish 2008	Dutch 1938	Dutch 1974	Dutch 1981	Dutch 1991
Dutch 2002	Dutch 2004	English 1970	English (UK) 1970	English (UK) 197	English (Canada) 1972	English (US) 1990	English (UK) 1990
English 1996	English 1996 (proof)	English 1996	English 2000 (large print)	English 2000 (proof)	English 2000	English (UK) 2000	Finnish 1972
Finnish 2000	French 1973	French 1973	French 2002	French 2006	Georgian 2002	Georgian 2004	German 1937
German 1973	German 1973	German 1973	German 1981	German 1989	German 1992	German 1994	German 2000
German 2001	German 2002	German 2003	Greek 2002	Hebrew 2001	Hungarian 2002	Indonesian 2004	Italian 1944
Italian 2000	Italian 2003	Japanese 1974	Japanese 2001	Korean 2005	Norwegian 1972	Norwegian 2005	Persian 1983
Persian 1992	Polish 1938	Polish 1938	Polish 2004	Portuguese 2000 (Brazil)	Portuguese 2004 (Continental)	Russian 1994	Russian 2002
Russian 2003	Russian 2004	Russian 2004	Russian 2004	Russian 2007	Russian 2008	Serbian 2003	Slovenian 2008
Spanish 1973	Spanish 2000	Spanish 2001	Swedish 1938	Swedish 1938	Swedish 1973	Turkish 1971	Turkish 2004
Turkish 2005	Urdu 1993

Purchase "Ali and Nino" in English, Azeri or Russian. Search at Store (AZER.com).

Please let us know if you know of other editions: Write us at ai@artnet.net.

"Ali and Nino" is the story of an Azerbaijani youth who falls in love with a Georgian princess. Essentially, the book is a quest for truth and reconciliation in a world of contradictory beliefs and practices - Islam and Christianity, East and West, age and youth. Much of the novel is set in Baku's Old City (Ichari Shahar) on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918. The novel was first published in 1937, in a foreign country (Austria), in a foreign language (German), by someone using the pen name of Kurban Said (Gurban Said in Azeri).

The novel is so relevant today that it has been published in at least 33 languages: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Catalan, Cantonese (Chinese), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian and Portugal), Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Urdu.

Unfortunately, the cover artwork too often perpetrates stereotypes about the Caucasus. For example, the story makes slight mention of camels, yet they often appear on the cover. Istanbul does not figure into the action, but Hagia Sophia is used to represent Islam. Ali describes his princess as "the most beautiful girl in the world with the most beautiful nose and slim - far too slim for the taste of the Orient." Perhaps the artists didn't read that part. Often a young girl is featured on the cover, though the strongest character development comes through the eyes and voice of Ali, a very sensitive, searching lad. Though he loses his life in battle, it's still hard to imagine him with a turban on his head as warrior.

For specific details about the 100 editions and reprints, see "Ali & Nino Chart" that follows. [In Azerbaijan International magazine]. For guidelines for collecting this book, see "How to Collect Kurban Said's Novel". For the "Ali & Nino Walking Tour," see Summer 2004 issue (AI 12.2).

© Azerbaijan International. All rights reserved.

Back to Index AI 12.3 (Autumn 2004)
AI Home | Search | Magazine Choice | Topics | AI Store | Contact us

Other Web sites created by Azerbaijan International
AZgallery.org | AZERI.org | HAJIBEYOV.com