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?
