1 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Hidden Gin, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Minky. I love 3 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: to smell good, and I have been kind of obsessed 4 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: with smelling nights since I was about thirteen years old, 5 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: and I'm happy to say this was well before the 6 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 1: advent of acts body spray. Now you might not be aware, 7 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: but perfumes that are filled with alcohol aren't very popular 8 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 1: in many parts of the world, including where our family 9 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: hails from, Pakistan. Instead, scented oils called out there have 10 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: been used widely for thousands of years by people in Africa, 11 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: the Middle East, and South Asia. And our family was different. 12 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: My parents had tiny, little precious vials of the rich 13 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: perfumed oil tucked away here and there in a dresser 14 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: drawer in the glove compartment of my dad's pickup truck. 15 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 1: Some were clear, others had a dim golden color, and 16 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: some were a deep amber, viscous and thick, sealed tightly 17 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: like a treasure. And they were treasures because real, authentic 18 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: other is very very expensive, costing in the thousands for 19 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: a single ounce of the really good stuff. It's pure, 20 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: unadulterated essence, with no alcohol, no dilution of the deeply 21 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: heady scents captured inside every drop. It's so strong that 22 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: you can smell the essence even when the vials are sealed. 23 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: A drop on each wrist, maybe one behind an ear 24 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: would last all day. I never dared to steal any 25 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: drops because there would be no hiding it. The scent travels, 26 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: turning you into a walking incense stick, and the minute 27 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: you enter a room wearing some others will immediately know. 28 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: And also, my siblings and I were strictly forbidden from 29 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: wearing other and not because it was expensive. We were 30 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: forbidden because See, the set doesn't just draw other people 31 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: to you, It draws creatures that we can't even see 32 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: to it, especially outside and especially at nighttime. So our 33 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: elders told us to be wary of going out at 34 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: night when the gin were most active heavily perfumed, because 35 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: it could prove irresistible to them. After all, the gin 36 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: lurked everywhere in the darkness, and smelling sweet and inviting, 37 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: could be just the thing that captured their interest. On 38 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: the other hand, you also don't want to piss them off. 39 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: You don't want to anger them, which you could if 40 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: you disrespected them. By doing something so heinous as urinating 41 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: under a tree at night, because that's why you find 42 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: a lot of them, or at least that's where they 43 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: can find you under a tree at night. It said 44 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: that many jin live in trees peacefully, not bothering anyone, 45 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: unless they could distract did by a sweetly perfumed person 46 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: passing by or a rude interloper who decided to relieve 47 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: their bladder there. According to Jewish lore, demon gin are 48 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: especially dangerous around palm trees, and you are bound to 49 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: invite their attention by sleeping under a palm tree or 50 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: squeezing between two palms, or between a palm tree and 51 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: a wall. The general rule here is definitely just stay 52 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: away from palm trees, also from sword trees because at 53 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: least sixty demon gin live in its shade, but also 54 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: avoid the caper bush because the blind demon roof lives there. 55 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: And while you're at it, stay away from the roots 56 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: of trees because an entire other species of demon gin 57 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: are found there. Trespassing into gin territory is enough to 58 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: make a gin follow you all the way home, snatch 59 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: you right up so you disappear forever, or even possess you, 60 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: so beware of lingering under trees at night for any reason, 61 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: because while it might seem like the Gin only occupy 62 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: far away ends, the bad news or good news, depending 63 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: on how you feel about all this, is that you'll 64 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: find them both far and very very near. I'm Robbia Chadary, 65 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: and I'll be your guide into the ancient world of 66 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: the hidden Gin. Welcome. As we've noted before, while we 67 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: may share our physical world with the Gin, it's not 68 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 1: their only abode. As metaphysical beings, they live in multiple dimensions, 69 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: occupying both their own gin worlds and the human one too. 70 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: But let's start at the beginning, the original dwelling of 71 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: our fiery friends, the Mountain of GoF It's not unusual 72 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: that people have historically believed in mystical, powerful beings living 73 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: in the highest of peaks, up among the clouds, far 74 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: from common human riff raff. For example, the Himalayas have 75 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: been revered for thousands of years by Hindus as the 76 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: home and of the gods, a sacred place where ancient 77 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: Hindu deities live and love, battle and triumph, where to 78 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: this day sages and saints and those seeking salvation trek 79 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: to meditate and commune with the divine, and the beautiful 80 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: slopes are dotted with sacred caves and shrines. The very 81 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: sins of mankind, it said, are forgiven just by laying 82 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: eyes on the mystical mountain range. But while mankind can 83 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,919 Speaker 1: actually lay eyes on it, we aren't quite able to 84 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: see the esoteric deities that are believed to live there 85 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,479 Speaker 1: upon its summits from time immemorial. They are there, but 86 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: not for our naked eyes to witness. Similarly, the Greek gods, 87 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: when sought, are said to be found atop Mount Olympus, 88 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: the highest mountain in Greece, and the ancient Persian god 89 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: of light Mithra rules from atop the sacred mount Hokkaraiah 90 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 1: and other Persian gods, saints, and heroes find rest in 91 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: the mount Elbows, range, mountains and mountain ranges, as you 92 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: can see, figure heavily in many diverse mythologies and religions, 93 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: and the Gin story is no different. If the Gin 94 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: had a homeland, it was Mount Golf, sometimes referred to 95 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: as a single mountain and other times as a range. 96 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: Golf is a place so mystical that it is both 97 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: everywhere and nowhere at least nowhere human experience can find 98 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,599 Speaker 1: and place it. The mountain stands at the most distant 99 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 1: point on the Earth, on the very edge of it, 100 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: and those who say it's a range say that it 101 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: surrounds the entire planet while remaining invisible to the eye. 102 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,239 Speaker 1: Every visible mountain range on Earth, however, springs from Golf, 103 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 1: connected deep underground to the original mother mountain where the 104 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: natural and the supernatural meat. Golf itself is created out 105 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: of green gems, some say emeralds, others say para dot, 106 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,479 Speaker 1: and among its gleaming peaks and valleys you find jinnis 107 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:00,040 Speaker 1: Than the land of the Jinns. Jennis Than is the 108 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: entire region spanning Golf, and in the regions are kingdoms 109 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 1: and tribes, cities and villages spanning thousands of metaphysical miles. 110 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: According to the legends, two such cities are Jibulka and Jibulsa, 111 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: both made out of pure emerald, one to the east 112 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: and one to the west of Golf. It is said 113 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: that Alexander the Great set out to find these cities, 114 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: which can only be reached by trekking four months in 115 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: utter darkness, but he gave up the riches of Jibulka 116 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: and Jabulsa were not to be his, and how could 117 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: they be. He was seeking what he could never find, 118 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: attempting to cross into a realm that remains out of 119 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: human reach and human sense, far on the other side 120 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: of a cosmic divide. While you will likely never make 121 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: a took off if you're seeking to find the gin, 122 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: no worries because on this side of the mystical mountain, 123 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: right here in the earthly realm, there is no dearth 124 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: of where they can be found. The most beastly ones, 125 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: as we've meant and before, hot places of desolation, deserts 126 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: and caves, abandoned ruins, graveyards. But then there are jin 127 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: who prefer not to learn so far from humanity, and 128 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: they make it their business to stay close to the sacred. 129 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: If you want to find a gin, go visit a shrine. 130 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 1: In two thousand and six, an unnamed correspondent from the 131 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: Economist did just that, going in search for them in 132 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: Somalia and Abrahanistan. The correspondent noted that it was often 133 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: village women of little or no education that visited the 134 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:40,079 Speaker 1: shrines with their pleas and prayers. The shrines, it was reported, 135 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: are often little more than a carved niche in a 136 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: rock with colorful prayer flags tied to nearby trees, and 137 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: according to the author quote Genner is that to be 138 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: attracted to the ancient geography of shrines, many of which 139 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: pre date Islam, and as some have it, the shrines 140 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 1: were attracted to the Gin, which takes us to one 141 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,079 Speaker 1: of them. Most famous such shrine located in the Land 142 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 1: of one hundred thousand Saints, Morocco. That's where you'll find 143 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: the shrine of the saint ben Yeffu, also known as 144 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: the Sultan of the Gin. Saints in this part of 145 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: the world, like saints in most part of the world, 146 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,680 Speaker 1: are replete with their miraculous powers to heal the sick, 147 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: fight drought and famine, and plagues men's rifts, and fight 148 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,839 Speaker 1: oppressive rulers. Everyday, people pray to them, beseech them for 149 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: their assistance in big and small matters, and often hang 150 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 1: all their hopes for help on these human vessels of 151 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:38,080 Speaker 1: divine power. Ben Yeffo, a saint from centuries ago, was 152 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 1: no different. It's hard to be exactly sure when Ben 153 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: yeff Who lived, but historic documents place him sometime between 154 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: the eighth and fourteen centuries, a rather considerable span of 155 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: time because written local histories were not nearly as common 156 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: as oral ones, and from many of the saints of 157 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: this region. All that remained behind as proof of their 158 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: existence are the folk stories about out them and the shrines. 159 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: The legend goes that ben Yeffi's family had moved from 160 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: the Sahara Desert to Marrakesh, Morocco, where in one part 161 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: of the city a powerful jin called an Afrit haunted 162 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: a spring of water, and this gin would harm anyone 163 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: who tried to access the spring. Thanks to the terror 164 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: of the jin, the locals were always struggling for water 165 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: and food, not even being able to supply sufficient water 166 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: for their herds or their fields. They tried everything they 167 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,679 Speaker 1: could to appease the gin during feasts and his honor, 168 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: and even sacrificing a virgin here and there to make 169 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: peace with the beast, but nothing worked, and year after 170 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: a year they suffered. Finally, the tribesmen begged the great 171 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: saints of the area to rid them of the gin, 172 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: and they were told that only ben Yeffu could help them, 173 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: So they summoned ben Yefu, who addressed an assembly of 174 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: all the local saints, who is the supreme spiritual leader 175 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,439 Speaker 1: in our times? Ben Yeff, who asked them you are? 176 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: They replied, who is the supreme helper? Benieff Wu then demanded, 177 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: you are, said the gathering of saints, Then you give 178 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: me permission to master Jin's by treading upon them with 179 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: my foot and whipping them with the sword of Jin's. 180 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: The saints responded, you have our permission, and promised that 181 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: neither we nor our descendants would advance in front of 182 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: you or your progeny to face Jin's till Allah inherits 183 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: the earth and all its inhabitants. Upon hearing that, ben 184 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 1: Yeff who approached the spring and summoned the Jin, who 185 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:35,080 Speaker 1: jumped out at him in the shape of a lion. 186 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: But before the line could touch him, ben Yeff, who 187 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,199 Speaker 1: blew on it, turning the animal into a roaring flame 188 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: that reached the sky but then quickly burned out. Ben Yeff, 189 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: who having been endowed all the Jin controlling power by 190 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,440 Speaker 1: the other saints, moved from place to place during his 191 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: life and eventually settled in Dahkula with his followers, where 192 00:11:55,640 --> 00:12:05,839 Speaker 1: they built a shrine which exists to this day in 193 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: his decades of saintly miracle's. Benyeffu became known for a 194 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,559 Speaker 1: particular miracle, the ability to draw water out of dry 195 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,199 Speaker 1: barren land, which was certainly useful in those parts. But 196 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: it wasn't his power of divination that resulted in a 197 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: legacy that has lasted centuries, if not a millennia. It 198 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: was instead his legendary defeat of a mysterious figure known 199 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: as a Black Sultan. Now, in stories from this region, 200 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: the Black Sultan wasn't only destroyed once by ben Yeffu, 201 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: he was destroyed at numerous times by different saints. Anthropologists 202 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: believed the Black Sultan figure stood for any number of tyrannical, 203 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 1: oppressive rulers that the population felt helpless against, and so 204 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: it was the spiritual sultans the saints that rose up 205 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,679 Speaker 1: against the material ones, the conquerors and rulers who made 206 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: life miserable for their subjects. But there is also another 207 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 1: tradition about the Black Sultan, an even darker one. It 208 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 1: is said that he in fact the son of shem Haresh, 209 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:06,559 Speaker 1: the demon jinn who stands guard at one of the 210 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: entrances to the Palace of Satan. Whether the Black Sultan 211 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: was descended from a demon jin or was an actual 212 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 1: oppressive ruler. The legend goes that when ben Yefu moved 213 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: into the Decula region, he inadvertently encroached into the Black 214 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: Sultan's territory. The Sultan heard about this powerful saint who 215 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: had just arrived, and realized this could mean a serious 216 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: challenge to his own power, so he assembled an army 217 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: and rode out to meet Benyefu with thousands of soldiers 218 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: flanking him. The Sultan demanded that ben yeff Wu leave 219 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,359 Speaker 1: the region and never return, but the saint was unperturbed. 220 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: He calmly refused. The Sultan, outraged over the saint's arrogance 221 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 1: and disdain, commanded his army to attack. But what the 222 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,680 Speaker 1: Sultan didn't know was that the saint wasn't alone. He 223 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: had his own army, an army of Jin under his control. 224 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,199 Speaker 1: With barely a movement, Beniyeffu's signaled for his battalions of 225 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: Gin soldiers to counter attack. The Sultan's army went flying 226 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: men and horses in the air as a Gin mounted 227 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,679 Speaker 1: an all out assault. Some stories say the sultan himself 228 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: was lifted off his steed and high into the air. 229 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 1: By a gin with seven heads, where he was suspended 230 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: terrified until he conceded, humiliated, and defeated. The Black Sultan 231 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: asked ben Yeffu for a truce. The saint agreed, but 232 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: only on one condition that the Sultan sign a decree 233 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 1: declaring ben Yeffu to be a true saint. The Black 234 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: Sultan did so and handed Benyeffu the declaration, stating, so 235 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: all could hear, I am a Sultan and you are 236 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: a Sultan. That episode definitively established benyef whose position as 237 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: a bona fide saint and entitled him to the eternal 238 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: honorific the Sultan of the Gin. Benyef who was also 239 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: known by another name, the Green Sultan, as a contrast 240 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: to the Black Sultan. This name he received when a 241 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: man pus that by Jin came to him to be cured. 242 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: The afflicted patients saw the saint as a vision of 243 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: a knight on a white horse. When ben yeff Who 244 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: lifted his arms in prayer, the sick man's eyes opened 245 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: wide as he saw entire tribes of Jin living under 246 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: the folds of Benieffu's gown, all bowed to the Green 247 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: Sultan in allegiance, and since then, ben jeff Wu's sovereignty 248 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: over the Jin has never been challenged. Today, the Shrine 249 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: of ben yeff Who bustles day and night with spiritual healers. 250 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: These healers continue the spiritual tradition of their saint battling 251 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: evil gin causing harm to human beings, and the shrine 252 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: also draws Jin to it who come to aid the 253 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: healers or commune with them, or they're just unable to 254 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: resist the draw of the power of ben Yeffu himself. 255 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: And there is another reason the Jin gather at ben 256 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: yeff Wu, because that's where an assembly of Jin, led 257 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: by the spirit of the Saint himself, preside over a 258 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: mythic gin core. That's right, a court with judges and 259 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: trials and defendants. The shrine at ben Yaffoo is simply designed. 260 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 1: It's a common dome shaped structure encircled by a series 261 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 1: of small cells that hold seekers waiting for relief. They're 262 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: called patients, but they come bearing a most serious spiritual disease, 263 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: jin possession, and so as they are exercised by the 264 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: spiritual inheritors of the Saint, the healers, the Jins themselves 265 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 1: are put on trial for having transgressed against humankind. The 266 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: proceedings in this court, called Jin evictions, involved judges, which 267 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 1: are usually the healers and sometimes lawyers and witnesses of 268 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: both the human and gin variety, and the Jin defendants 269 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: are brought before the court through the physical body they 270 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: have possessed. The Gin are dragged to this court from 271 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: all over the world, because the court at ben Yaffoo 272 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 1: is what you might call the Supreme Court of Jin misbehavior, 273 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: the highest ruling body in the world exercising jurisdiction over 274 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: the gin. In one reported instance, a young boy who 275 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,639 Speaker 1: was unable to walk was brought to Beniafu by his father, 276 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,639 Speaker 1: who carried him into the shrine and placed him before 277 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: one of the healers. The father accused the defendant a 278 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: gin for his son's affliction. The healer focused his gaze 279 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,479 Speaker 1: on the boy, whose body began twisting and writhing in 280 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: pain as prayers began being chanted. The boy suddenly opened 281 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: his mouth and started reciting verses in Arabic, but the 282 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: healer silenced him, demanding to know who was speaking, the 283 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: boy or the gin. The voice that responded said it 284 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: was a gin named Knock and that he was a 285 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,840 Speaker 1: god fearing jin, not an evil one. Well, why, then, 286 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: asked the healer, did he possess the boy because of 287 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: the gin? The boy had entered a cave with the 288 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,359 Speaker 1: jin lived and well, he took a leak. What the 289 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: boy didn't know was that he had urinated right on 290 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: the gin itself. This act of disrespect so enraged the 291 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: Gin that he possessed the young man ever since. The 292 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:01,640 Speaker 1: healer reprimanded the gin. Is this any way to treat 293 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:06,159 Speaker 1: a fellow, god fearing person? Forgive him, he demanded. The 294 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,639 Speaker 1: Gin agreed and forgave the boy, releasing him from his bondage. 295 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: And immediately the boy rose and stood able to walk again. 296 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: The trial of the Gin was over and his eviction secured. 297 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: These are the kinds of stories that people witness regularly 298 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,199 Speaker 1: at Beniefu, and it's not uncommon for the offending gin 299 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: to cite some kind of wrongdoing against them as a 300 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: reason for their taking a sole hostage, which, if we 301 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:33,440 Speaker 1: remember from the top of the show, is one good 302 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: reason not to take a leak under a tree, just 303 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: like our elders warned us not to, because you never 304 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: know who or what you might be leaking on. An 305 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: interesting note about the Gin evictions at the Shrine of 306 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: Benieffu is this, while the defendants may except the verdicts 307 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: issue to them and release their victims, it doesn't mean 308 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,400 Speaker 1: they just go away. Often they will linger at the shrine, 309 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,400 Speaker 1: and sometimes they leave one victim only to occupy another. 310 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: And every night, they say, the jinns gather to dance 311 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: in a trance at the shrine, moving in circle upon 312 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: circle of spiritual ecstasy, honoring their master ben Yeffu and 313 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,480 Speaker 1: his power over them. So if you're looking for Gin, 314 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: the shrine of ben Yeffu will surely not disappoint. Of course, 315 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 1: ben Yeffu isn't the only shrine you can find gin, 316 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,679 Speaker 1: though most shrines certainly don't hold Gin trials. But across 317 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: the world, at shrines both big and small, jinner said 318 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: to guard the sacred spaces, often in the form of 319 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: human beings that appear and disappear, protectors who live there, 320 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,120 Speaker 1: to safeguard pilgrims, and honor whatever saint is buried there. 321 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,399 Speaker 1: In some shrines and places of worship, you'll find legions 322 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: of pigeons and other birds that line the rooftops and 323 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: wander in the courtyards. These birds, they say, are actually 324 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,920 Speaker 1: Jin who come to share the quiet, contemplative peace of 325 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: these spaces, who listen to the prayerful chance, and who 326 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,400 Speaker 1: harbor no ill will towards human beings. And just as 327 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: some Jin guards shrines and worshippers, there are others who 328 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: stand guard over an entirely different kind of charge, worldly treasures. Now, 329 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,680 Speaker 1: we've mentioned before that Jin often dwell in desolate places, 330 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,719 Speaker 1: among crumbling, abandoned sites. That way, they're far removed from 331 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: humanity and can live there in peace. But sometimes the 332 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: reason they're living among the ruins is because somewhere in 333 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: those ruins, in that far off, lonely place, there is 334 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 1: a hidden treasure that needs guarding. There is an ancient 335 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: legend about an awesome treasure concealed in the Nebataean ruins 336 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 1: in the Hijaz region of present day Saudi Arabia. The 337 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:43,720 Speaker 1: Nebataeans were an Arabian tribe whose earliest inscriptions date hundreds 338 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: of years before the birth of Jesus. Some say they 339 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: were nomads and traveled throughout the desert with their herds, 340 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,640 Speaker 1: following the seasons and food and water supplies. Other sources 341 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 1: say they were a tribe of warriors, numbering in the thousands, 342 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: and they were also master tradesmen, with their trades dry 343 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: all the way from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. 344 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 1: The Nabatians faded from history, but left behind grand monuments 345 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: to their existence across the region, from modern day Jordans 346 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: to Israel to the Sinai and in northwest Saudi Arabia. Now, 347 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,200 Speaker 1: many of you may have heard of Petra, the ruins 348 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: of an ancient Nebatian city in Jordan that attracts thousands 349 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: of tourists from across the world, but you likely haven't 350 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: heard of Madayan Saleh, the second largest nebatinin archaeological site 351 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: after Petra, dating back to the first century, and that's 352 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:43,960 Speaker 1: where we find our next story. Madaine sale translates to 353 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,360 Speaker 1: the cities of Saleh, named after an ancient prophet from 354 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,399 Speaker 1: before the time of Abraham, whose story is found in 355 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: both High and Islamic scriptures. According to the stories, the 356 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,199 Speaker 1: prophet Saleh was sent to the Nebatian people of this 357 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: region to call them to the true religion, but they 358 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 1: rejected him, and while things didn't go so well for them, 359 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: then they were wiped out by God for their impiety 360 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,439 Speaker 1: and arrogance, and since then only their ruins remain. And 361 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: it seems, according to the archaeologists, the people of this 362 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: region did disappear sometime between four hundred and six d 363 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 1: left behind with the vestiges of a once sprawling, dynamic 364 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: metropolis with residential communities, places of worship, a hundred thirty wells, 365 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: and four separate necropolis areas to bury and honor the dead. 366 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: There are over two thousand burial sites deep within the earth, 367 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:40,359 Speaker 1: and above ground there are monumental tombs. While the land 368 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 1: is arid and flat, massive rose colored sandstone formations rise 369 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 1: up thousands of feet high from the desert, and centuries ago, 370 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: the Nebataeans carved a hundred and thirty one monumental tombs 371 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: into these rocky outcrops, which still stand today. The legend 372 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: goes the people of the region did just leave behind 373 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: these monuments, They also left behind a grand treasure sealed 374 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: in one of the thousands of rocky chambers underground, a 375 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,199 Speaker 1: treasure so great that, if found, the kings of the 376 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 1: world would battle over it. Tribes would destroy one another, 377 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,679 Speaker 1: friend would turn against friend, and brother against brother, and 378 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:23,240 Speaker 1: such a grand treasure, of course, cannot stand unguarded, protecting 379 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,199 Speaker 1: it since the time the inhabitants were wiped out. Is 380 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 1: a gin, and not just any gin, but an ancient, 381 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:34,280 Speaker 1: if freat Now the Freath are known to be powerful, wicked, 382 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: and cunning. They're winged and massive, and are usually found 383 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: in places like Made and Sale, deep among the ruins, 384 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: where they rise to from the underworld. Some say they're 385 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,640 Speaker 1: demons and they are nearly impossible to control or defeat. 386 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: Your best bet is to steer clear of them, which 387 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: is what the Arabs of the region did for centuries. 388 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: The ruins and Madie and Sale were left unattended for 389 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,679 Speaker 1: hundreds of years, avoided precisely because of low goals, feared 390 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: the jin that haunted them, and yet still they stayed 391 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,960 Speaker 1: incredibly well preserved. Some say thanks to the arid climate, 392 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:10,880 Speaker 1: and others say thanks to the jin that dwell there. 393 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 1: In two thousand and eight, the site was declared a 394 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:18,200 Speaker 1: UNESCO Heritage Site, and while today the Saudi government highly 395 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: encourages tourism there, many locals still refused to visit. They 396 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:26,199 Speaker 1: know seeking treasure there could end up being fatal for them, 397 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: because despite the lure of a buried treasure. At the 398 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 1: end of the day, no one wants to battle a 399 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:42,360 Speaker 1: demon for it. Now, another legendary treasure, guarded by Jin 400 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: is said to be buried in the ruins of the 401 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: last city of Ubar, dubbed the Atlantis of the Sands 402 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 1: by Lawrence of Arabia himself. While stories of Ubar can 403 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 1: be found in both Islamic lore and the tales from 404 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,399 Speaker 1: one thousand and one Arabian Nights, many scholars thought it 405 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: never existed. That was until when the ruins of a 406 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:06,440 Speaker 1: fortress was located by an unlikely team of Los Angeles 407 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: archaeologists who used satellite imagery from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 408 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:14,639 Speaker 1: and found something in the most barren part of the 409 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,119 Speaker 1: country of Oman, in a region so desolate it's called 410 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:22,680 Speaker 1: the Empty Quarter. The fortress they found was surrounded by 411 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 1: eight walls, an impenetrable octagon. Each wall was sixty ft long, 412 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,160 Speaker 1: twelve feet high and two ft thick and thirty feet high. 413 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 1: Watch towers stood in every corner. It was the watch 414 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: towers that convinced the archaeologist that this was indeed Ubar, 415 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,520 Speaker 1: because it matched the description in the Islamic scripture that 416 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 1: gore On which referred to Ubar as the quote the 417 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 1: many towered city whose like has not been built in 418 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: the entire land. If this was indeed the ancient city 419 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: of Ubar, that means the researchers had found what was 420 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: the center of the global frankin since trade over three 421 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 1: thousand years ago, and thanks to that trade. Legend has 422 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 1: it that the rulers of Ubar were rich and powerful 423 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: beyond imagination. According to the legend, they were ruled over 424 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:14,640 Speaker 1: by a brutal king named Shahdad bin Odd. King Shaddad 425 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,119 Speaker 1: ruled over a thousand tribes, and he was obsessed with 426 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: creating a paradise for himself on earth, so he ordered 427 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 1: gems and jewels from around the world to be used 428 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,080 Speaker 1: in building a city that would be his own paradise 429 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: on Earth. Ubar was filled with pillars of rubies and emeralds, 430 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: thresholds of pearls, walls of gold and silver, the entire 431 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: place lush and fragrant, from floors studied with saffron and musk, 432 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: dotted with exotic gardens that invoked all the beauty of 433 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 1: a heavenly paradise. Unfortunately, for Shahdad, he never was able 434 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,360 Speaker 1: to see the fortress completed in all of its glory. 435 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: It said that when Shahdad finally headed out to inspect 436 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: the city after it took three hundred years to make, 437 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,439 Speaker 1: and in case you're wondering, Shadad himself was a nine 438 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,639 Speaker 1: years old. His arrogance finally caught up to him for 439 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: the sin of trying to recreate God's paradise on earth, 440 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: along with plenty of other sins like greed and debauchery. 441 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: Shaddad and his entourage were swallowed up by a massive 442 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: desert storm, as was his jeweled city. But while the 443 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,119 Speaker 1: treasures ended up buried under mountains of sand and earth, 444 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 1: they weren't forgotten. For thousands of years, those treasures have 445 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: been guarded by the gin creatures called the Nisnas. Strangely 446 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,119 Speaker 1: half formed, the Nisnas could be mistaken for human at 447 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: a distance, but upon getting closer, the illusion disappears. With 448 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,680 Speaker 1: half ahead, half a body, a single eye, the Nisnas 449 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,640 Speaker 1: hop around on a single foot attached to their only leg. 450 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: While they are considered a weak gin without much power, 451 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,560 Speaker 1: their misshapen form terrifies the imagination of believers from the 452 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 1: east to the west. They even make an appearance in 453 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:59,640 Speaker 1: the French writer Gustave Flaubert's literary work The Temptation of St. 454 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,399 Speaker 1: Anthon me In this book, the saint, who has isolated 455 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,640 Speaker 1: himself on an Egyptian mountaintop, is tested by visions, haunted 456 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,919 Speaker 1: by gods and demons, tempted by magicians and monsters, and 457 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: one of those monsters is the Nisnas slobear rights. The 458 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 1: nisnas have only one eye, one cheek, one hand, one leg, 459 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,320 Speaker 1: half a body, half a heart. They say, we live 460 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 1: quiet in our halves of houses, with our halves and wives, 461 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 1: and our halves of children. The nisnas may have limitations 462 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,520 Speaker 1: to their powers, but they are able protectors of their charge. 463 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: If any human gets too close to the treasure, they 464 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: summon a sandstorm to blind and disorient them, And if 465 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,480 Speaker 1: they keep going, the nisnas don't allow them to escape 466 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 1: the desert until they've gone completely mad. And so it's 467 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: these halflings that still guard the treasure of Ubar today, 468 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: wherever they may be buried. For some, that's enough to 469 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,120 Speaker 1: avoid even looking for the treasure, but for others, the 470 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: jinn themselves are the keys to the fortune. In two 471 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: thousand and twelve, a piece published in the Journal of 472 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: Archaeology recounts story written by an author named Salah al 473 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: Hudaliyah about an extraordinary discovery that he made in the 474 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: country of Jordan. In Salah had been visiting relatives who 475 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: introduced him to a young man that was engaged in 476 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: some questionable behavior. This man told Salah that he was 477 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 1: a treasure hunter. He dug up antiquities from archaeological sites, 478 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,960 Speaker 1: which wasn't exactly legal and that concerned Salah, but his 479 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: concern only grew when the young man told him he 480 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: had help in his adventures. His partner in crime was 481 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 1: a Jinn that pointed him to exactly where he could 482 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: find buried treasure. Salah was understandably skeptical, to which the 483 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,959 Speaker 1: young man responded, this is my problem. No one believes me. 484 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: So Sala agreed to go along with the man the 485 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 1: next day to see if there was indeed any evidence 486 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: of a Jin working with him. They made three stops 487 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 1: during their excursion at different points a cave, a collection 488 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: of large rocks, and a tree, and at every point 489 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,000 Speaker 1: Sala was directed by the young man to find a 490 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,680 Speaker 1: hidden object objects he said that the Jin was locating 491 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 1: for him. Sala discovered a ragged old document in the cave, 492 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: shards of pottery under the rocks, and an old piece 493 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: of fabric inside a hole in the tree. All the items, 494 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: to Salah at least looked to be years old. These 495 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: were not recently placed. The document, according to the Jin 496 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: guiding the young man, was a witchcraft spell meant to 497 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 1: lead them further on in their search. At that point, 498 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: Sala felt a deep sense of discomfort. He decided to 499 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,320 Speaker 1: abandon ship and he left, but he couldn't stop thinking 500 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 1: about the experience, and over a decade later, in two 501 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: thousand and three, he returned to interview more antiquities looters, 502 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 1: but this time in Palestine. For the following seven years, 503 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:06,520 Speaker 1: he interviewed hundreds of them and found a significant number 504 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: that admitted to engaging Gin to help find treasure. He 505 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: was told that there were two kinds of treasures, those 506 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 1: that were considered normal, that they were left behind in 507 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 1: the usual course of human business, and then there was 508 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,720 Speaker 1: a second category treasure that was under the protection of Gin. 509 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 1: And to get to that treasure, well, you kind of 510 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 1: needed supernatural help, but that help always came at a price. 511 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,960 Speaker 1: In order to be given the exact location of a 512 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,520 Speaker 1: valuable hidden object. The treasure hunters were commanded by the 513 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: Gin that they asked for help from to perform some 514 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: rather profane acts, including washing themselves with wine, drinking blood, 515 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:48,239 Speaker 1: and even offering a human sacrifice on an altar. In 516 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,080 Speaker 1: some cases, the treasure hunters had to subject themselves to 517 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:53,960 Speaker 1: being tortured physically by the Gin in order to gain 518 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: access to their secrets. Others reported they agreed to be 519 00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 1: possessed by the Gin, and sometimes that Gin didn't want 520 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: to let go now. In most cases, though, the Gin 521 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 1: couldn't be accessed without the aid of a chief, a 522 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: cleric that proclaimed to have the knowledge and power needed 523 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,480 Speaker 1: to summon and control them all for a fee, of course, 524 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 1: or a cut of whatever treasure was found. And this, 525 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: of course leaves the door wide open for con men 526 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: of all stripes. In two thousand and seventeen, the Golf 527 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:29,520 Speaker 1: News media outlet reported an incredible story. A family in 528 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,040 Speaker 1: Debay was approached by a woman who told them that 529 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 1: she sensed there was a vast hidden treasure under their 530 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 1: property and she knew just the man who could help 531 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 1: the family find and extract the treasure. They agreed to 532 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,840 Speaker 1: meet him, and when he arrived, he began digging in 533 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 1: a portion of their yard, and right before their stun dies, 534 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: he pulled jewelry out of the earth. He quickly reburied it, 535 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 1: though telling them that this jewelry and much other treasure 536 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,600 Speaker 1: lay beneath the ground, but it was guarded by a 537 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: powerful gin. At that gin was not happy that he 538 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,239 Speaker 1: had dug up the jewels without the gin's permission. In 539 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:05,959 Speaker 1: order to appease the gin, the man told the family 540 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 1: they must make an offering of a special liquid, and 541 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 1: that liquid would cost over two hundred thousand dollars. They 542 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: gave the man the money in cash, and of course, 543 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: he disappeared. Not long after, they got a call from 544 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: a third person who told them that their treasure hunter 545 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: had been captured by the gin and was being imprisoned 546 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 1: by it. He told him it would cost another two 547 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:31,440 Speaker 1: thousand dollars to release him. Well. By now the family 548 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 1: was a little bit suspicious, but they agreed to meet 549 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: the caller. They handed over the money, but they had 550 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:40,800 Speaker 1: already alerted the police to the scam. The authorities busted 551 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,440 Speaker 1: the con men in their fraudulent gin scheme and arrested them. 552 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:46,920 Speaker 1: Then they advised the public to be aware of those 553 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:51,360 Speaker 1: claiming to have contact with or power over the gin. Now, 554 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 1: while the people involved in this caper were certainly a 555 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,880 Speaker 1: bunch of crooks, the profession of treasure hunting with the 556 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 1: help of other worldly partners had they long respect double 557 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:04,520 Speaker 1: history in the region. In fact, these professionals even organized 558 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:08,359 Speaker 1: into a formal guild in ninth century Egypt, putting out 559 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:12,760 Speaker 1: Get Rich Quick treasure hunting manuals. The government quickly realized 560 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 1: the economic value of this industry and appointed a supervisor 561 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:19,800 Speaker 1: over the group. Over the next millennia, the historical impact 562 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:24,040 Speaker 1: of looting antiquities finally became apparent, So in the early 563 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 1: twentieth century, the very first Egyptologist, Ahmad Kamal, wrote a 564 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:32,920 Speaker 1: massive tome on the history and impact of antiquity hunting 565 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:37,239 Speaker 1: to try and garner national support for preserving these national treasures. 566 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:40,920 Speaker 1: Perhaps the most fascinating part of that book is an 567 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,480 Speaker 1: entire index of gin, over three hundred of them listed 568 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:47,360 Speaker 1: by a name that had assisted the treasure hunters of 569 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,960 Speaker 1: the past. So yeah, teaming up the gin in the 570 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 1: hopes of getting rich is a long standing and rich 571 00:34:53,840 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: tradition which takes us back to our antiquity looters in Palestine. Ultimately, Salah, 572 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,640 Speaker 1: who conducted an entire research study on antiquity looters that 573 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:05,920 Speaker 1: used the help of Jin, found that it was a 574 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:10,279 Speaker 1: dangerous and unusually fruitless endeavor because more often than not 575 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:14,239 Speaker 1: there was no treasure to be found. But ever, believers 576 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 1: that didn't deter the faith of the hunters in the 577 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:21,279 Speaker 1: existence of ancient buried treasures guarded by Jin. They just 578 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:24,960 Speaker 1: figured the supernatural and super powerful custodians simply moved the 579 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:29,560 Speaker 1: treasures to thwart them from being stolen. After all, what 580 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:37,640 Speaker 1: else would a good guardian do. The Gin can lurk 581 00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:41,880 Speaker 1: anywhere and haunt any place they please. Back into thousands, 582 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,960 Speaker 1: a newspaper reported a spate of inexplicable seizures among the 583 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,719 Speaker 1: teachers at a girls school in Jedda, Saudi Arabia. A 584 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:53,080 Speaker 1: local cleric investigated and determined the seizures were the result 585 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,479 Speaker 1: of Jin's inhabiting the place, and in two thousand six, 586 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:00,000 Speaker 1: multiple stories appeared on an Indian news wire about numerous 587 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:03,799 Speaker 1: haunted mosques in the city of Popebal, including a two 588 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: year old one that is actually called the Mosque of 589 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:10,040 Speaker 1: the Gin. The area surrounding that mosque is also haunted, 590 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:13,480 Speaker 1: and buildings in the neighborhood have been left abandoned given 591 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 1: over to the gin. Another nearby mosque, called the Hira Mosque, 592 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,240 Speaker 1: is built out of pure brilliant white marble, but nearly 593 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,680 Speaker 1: no one worships there because they're too terrified according to 594 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:28,360 Speaker 1: local residents. Though the mosque doesn't remain empty because the 595 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: gin prey there well in this episode by bringing you 596 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,719 Speaker 1: closer to home, because if you're in search of a gin, 597 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:36,840 Speaker 1: you might not be able to get to an ancient 598 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,520 Speaker 1: shrine or buried treasure or haunted mosque, but luckily you 599 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:42,480 Speaker 1: don't have to travel to the far reaches of the 600 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:45,239 Speaker 1: globe to find them. You might not even have to 601 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:49,200 Speaker 1: leave home. That's because there are many traditions that say 602 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,760 Speaker 1: that jinns who like to stay close to human beings 603 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,840 Speaker 1: often do so by staying in their bathrooms. Now, today's 604 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,399 Speaker 1: bathrooms aren't exactly like the kinds of toilets that people 605 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:00,839 Speaker 1: have had to make do with over the centry. Our 606 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:04,759 Speaker 1: bathrooms are generally more sanitary and less foreboding, but historically 607 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,040 Speaker 1: they were pretty much the least pleasant place a person 608 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:11,160 Speaker 1: might have to visit daily, and because they were often dirty, 609 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:14,080 Speaker 1: and smelly and rarely cleaned. You can be assured it 610 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,600 Speaker 1: was one place nothing holy was ever uttered. That's why 611 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:20,840 Speaker 1: it makes sense that these dark, filthy spaces will attract 612 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:25,880 Speaker 1: beings just as dark and unholy. So be careful the 613 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:29,000 Speaker 1: next time you play the Bloody Marry game the bathroom, 614 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,800 Speaker 1: you may end up summoning a creature you didn't expect. 615 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,600 Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us this week. Next week we'll be 616 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:37,920 Speaker 1: back to take you another step into the world of 617 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:43,800 Speaker 1: the Hidden Gin. Until then, remember we are not alone. 618 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:52,680 Speaker 1: If you loved today's episode, I'm gonna ask you a 619 00:37:52,719 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 1: big favor. Please stop my iTunes and leave me a 620 00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,960 Speaker 1: rating and a review, even if it's just one short sentence. 621 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 1: Not only is that how other listeners discover the podcast, 622 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:05,600 Speaker 1: but it's also what keeps the podcast going. And for 623 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:09,240 Speaker 1: every thousand reviews that I get on iTunes, I'll release 624 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:13,600 Speaker 1: another Patreon episode absolutely free. That's right, we're on Patreon, 625 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:16,600 Speaker 1: so if you're a Gin enthusiast, check out the Companion 626 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 1: Patreon series at patreon dot com slash Hidden Jin Again, 627 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,520 Speaker 1: that's patreon dot com slash Hidden Gin, and remember Jin 628 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 1: is spelled d j I n N. That's where you're 629 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:33,239 Speaker 1: gonna find an amazing series of interviews between me, scholars, experts, artist, historians, 630 00:38:33,239 --> 00:38:37,560 Speaker 1: and every day lay people who have had extraordinary experiences 631 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 1: with jin and everybody can check out the first episode 632 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:43,719 Speaker 1: absolutely free. It's me and my husband sharing our gen 633 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:46,399 Speaker 1: stories and it was a lot of fun. And if 634 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:48,680 Speaker 1: you have any Gin stories, well, I'd love to hear 635 00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:52,040 Speaker 1: from you. Email me at the Hidden Gin at gmail 636 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:55,520 Speaker 1: dot com. Once again, it's The Hidden Gin Gin with 637 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:58,360 Speaker 1: a D at gmail dot com and you might just 638 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 1: hear back from me, or you might hear your story 639 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:03,960 Speaker 1: on this show. And finally, don't forget to follow us 640 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:07,440 Speaker 1: on social media. We're on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with 641 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 1: the handle the Hidden Gin. There you can tweet, post, insta, 642 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:14,640 Speaker 1: dm me. I'd love to hear from all of you, 643 00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:21,080 Speaker 1: and believe me, I read every single message. The Hidden 644 00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:24,040 Speaker 1: Gin is a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm 645 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:27,520 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankey. The podcast is written and 646 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:31,400 Speaker 1: hosted by Robbia Chaudry and produced by Miranda Hawkins and 647 00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:36,279 Speaker 1: Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and 648 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:40,400 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick. Music for the show was provided by Smith 649 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:44,239 Speaker 1: Sony and Folkways recordings. Our theme song was created by 650 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:48,800 Speaker 1: Patrick Cortez. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit 651 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:52,520 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 652 00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:53,560 Speaker 1: get your podcasts.