Filming on Arabian Nights began November 16, 1998 near Goreme in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, 400 miles southeast of Istanbul.  Thirty million years ago, three volcanoes simultaneously erupted in Cappadocia, spreading a thick layer of ash which hardened into towering, cone-shaped rocks called Fairy Chimneys.  Churches, monasteries and underground cities were subsequently carved out of the
porous rock.  George Lucas used used this stunning, utterly unique terrain for the moonscape scenes in Star Wars.

In Goreme, cast and crew were billetted in caves which had been turned into pensiones.  Because the nights are so cold, the caves were heated.  The $19-a-night "cave charge" included a traditional Turkish breakfast of olives, feta, cucumbers, tomatoes and boiled eggs.

After two weeks of filming in Cappodcia, the entire 235-person Arabian Nights company moved to the newly-built Antalya Studios, near Antalya, Turkey.  Arabian Nights was the studio's first tenant.  It features a giant soundstage (32,550-square feet) and an expansive backlot where many of the exterior scenes were shot.

An astonishing 48 sets were built on the Antalya soundstage during the 15-week-long shoot.  Why so many?  Because Arabian Nights encompasses six stories:  the linking tale, starring Dougray Scott as Sultan Schahriar and Mili Avital as Scheherazade and five others which take place in different periods and in different places:

"Aladdin" played by Jason Scott Lee, is set in the Chinese mountains; "The Three Brothers" in the Yemen desert; "The Hunchback" in Constantinople, "Ali Baba" played by Rufus Sewell, in the mountains of Syria; and "The Sultan and the Beggar" set in Cairo.  Six distinctive "looks" were needed. The first-unit team numbered 190 (unusually large by either feature film or television mini-series standards); the second-unit was composed of 45 hard-working souls.  Four Arriflex cameras were used during the production. After Arabian Nights wrapped in

Turkey, a slimmed-down unit of 30 flew to Erfoud, in southeastern Morocco, on the edge of the Sahara Desert.  All the Lawrence of Arabia lanscape scenes were shot there over an intensive four-day period.

In Morocco, 150 camels were drafted for use during the filming.  They were recruited from thoughout southeastern Morocco.

Becuase Arabian Nights encompasses six quite distinct stories, an astonishing 4,750 costumes had to be created.  They came from a variety of sources.  Some were rented in Rome, London and Los Angeles.  The vast majority, though, were custom-made in Turkey.   Ten Italian tailors, embroiderers and seamstresses supervised a small army of 42 Turkish artisans during the Herculean project.

While key pieces of jewelry used in the production were rented in Rome, all the "fake" jewelry was made expressly for the mini-series in Antalya, by Turkish artisans.  Altogether, more than 400 pieces were crafted.

The Jim Henson Creature Shop (in London) was also pressed into Arabian Nights service.   Henson technicians created two computer generated Chinese dragons for the Ali Baba section of the mini-series.

source: Hallmark Entertainment Arabian Nights' press kit

Arabian Nights recieved the following Emmy nominations:

Outstanding Miniseries
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a  Special
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

Arabian Nights won an Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special