Show Synopsis:
Marsinah and her father, a poet, try to see his verses at a mosque, but they are unsuccessful. The poet claims to be a cousin of a regular beggar named Hajj so that he can beg with the other beggars, and earns some money by threatening to curse passersby. Hassen-Ben believes he is Hajj and kidnaps him to remove a curse from Jawan, and the poet makes some money off of it. Meanwhile, the Princesses of Ababu tells Lalume, the wife-of-wives of the evil Wazir, that they want to go home and not marry the Caliph, which they must do so that a debt will be repaid. Lalume tries to console them. The poet gives Marsinah some of the money he made, and while people are trying to sell her their wares, the Caliph sees her and falls in love with her. The poet is caught by the authorities as an impostor while Marsinah is shopping for a house. Caliph pretends to be the gardener, Marsinah realizes she is attracted to him, and they arrange to meet in secret. Hajj" is sentenced to being whipped and having his hand cut off, and Lalume begins to fall in lov"e with him. Jawan is reunited with his son, the Wazir, to the credit of Hajj, but the Wazir sentences him to death because he is a criminal. The Caliph announces his engagement to Marsinah, which will ruin the Wazir, because his power rests on the Caliph?s political marriage to the Princesses of Ababu. The Wazir bribes ?Hajj? to perform a curse that will rectify the situation, and in the chaos of the curse, he escapes. Hajj tries to get Marsinah to flee to Damascus, they argue, and Marsinah does not meet the Caliph for the wedding. Marsinah finds the poet at Wazir?s palace just as the Caliph asks the Wazir to find his love. The Wazir tries to show the Caliph all the delights of having a harem instead of one wife, but the Caliph sees Marsinah amidst all the Wazir?s ladies and gets upset. The Wazir marries Marsinah and she vows to kill herself if he tries to sleep with her. The poet drowns the Wazir and explains what has happened to the Caliph, and asks to be banished to an oasis with Lalume as punishment for killing a public official.

Character:
Marsinah, a beautiful young woman who loves her father and does everything for him, and is taken aback when love hits her.
The Caliph, the young ruler of Baghadad who has had political responsibility thrust on him but wants to follow his own heart.

Song Context:
Marsinah is very impressed with the garden of the house she is viewing, and the Caliph, disguised as the house?s gardener, is impressed with her beauty. They feel as if they have each found a kind of paradise.

Fun Facts:
1) This musical was based on Edward Knoblock?s play of the same name. 
2) While Richard Kiley was making his final Broadway musical appearance playing The Caliph in the original Broadway cast of Kismet, Doretta Morrow was making her Broadway debut playing Marsinah. 
3) The melody in this song was taken from Alexander Borodin?s ?The Gliding Dance of the Maidens? from the opera Prince Igor. Most of the music in Kismet was inspired or based on melodies of Borodin?s.