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Where did the well known trope of a 'City in a Bottle', as associated with middle eastern mythology, originate?

It is referenced in modern culture (see the City in a Bottle Magic the Gathering Card, Sandman #50: Ramadan by Neil Gaiman, etc), and is always associated with the middle east, Arabia in particular. I thought that it originated somewhere in the 1001 Nights, but I have not been able to locate the particular story.

Can anyone shed light on the origins of this idea?

Emmett P
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    Hi, do you have any sort of evidence for this being mythological rather than a SF trope? The obvious point of reference for me is RA Heinlein's short story "Universe". This may do better over on SF&F. – Spencer Feb 23 '19 at 16:15
  • I'll try it over in SF as well. Thanks for the tip. I posted it here because the idea is always presented as being part of the mythical history of the middle east. This historical aspect makes it seem like a myth to my mind – Emmett P Feb 23 '19 at 18:37
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    Cross-post at https://scifi.stackexchange.com/q/205965/4918 . In the future, if you ask a question in two forums, please link them both ways. – b_jonas Feb 24 '19 at 11:23

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