--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...he knows it is a city, but he thinks…" description: "\"“...he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a camel from whose pack hang wineskins and bags of candies fruit, date wine, tobacco leaves, and alre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/italo-calvino-402_fresh-water_he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-i_729672.jpg" --- # ...he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a camel… ![“...he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a camel from whose pack hang wineskins and bags of candies fruit, date wine, tobacco leaves, and already he sees himself as the head of a long caravan taking him away from the desert of the sea, toward oases of fresh water in the palm trees' jagged…” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/italo-calvino-402_fresh-water_he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-i_729672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/italo-calvino-402_fresh-water_he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-i_729672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/italo-calvino-402_fresh-water_he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-i_729672.jpg) > ““...he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a camel from whose pack hang wineskins and bags of candies fruit, date wine, tobacco leaves, and already he sees himself as the head of a long caravan taking him away from the desert of the sea, toward oases of fresh water in the palm trees' jagged shade, toward palaces of thick, whitewashed walls, tiled courts where girls are dancing barefoot, moving their arms, half-hidden by their veils, half-revealed.”” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A traveler imagines a fantastical city, blending reality with dream‑like details, reflecting longing for escape and wonder. **In simple terms:** Imagined city mixes reality and fantasy. Key Takeaway Embrace imagination to enrich perception. Themes imagination travel escape Mood dreamy reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - visual storytelling - urban planning Key Concepts myth urban fantasy desire for wonder Questions to Reflect On - What does this city symbolize for you? - How can imagination improve real‑world design? A Different Perspective Idealized visions may ignore practical challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camel/) [Camel Pack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camel-pack-5718895/) [Caravan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caravan/) [Caravan Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caravan-taking-5718896/) [Fresh water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fresh-water/) [Palm trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palm-trees/) [Thinks Camel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-camel-3015819/) ## Related quotes > [“Despina can be reached in two ways: by ship or by camel. 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Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriella-bennett/4-thou-shall-attempt-a-staycation-even-if-thou-detests-the-word/) [Gabriella Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriella-bennett/) > [The world is not a courtroom There is no judge no jury no plaintiff. This is a caravan filled with eccentric beings telling wondrous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/the-world-is-not-a-courtroom-there-is-no-judge-no-jury-no-plaintiff/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [Most of my memories are the sound of rain on caravan roofs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-macdonald/most-of-my-memories-are-the-sound-of-rain-on-caravan-roofs/) [Kelly Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-macdonald/) > [“We cut three telegraph wires, and fastened the free ends to the saddles of six riding-camels of the Howeitat. 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They will cut of your ear if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/well-i-come-from-a-land-from-a-far-away-place-where-the-caravan/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I spent the first seven years of my life in a caravan traveling around Europe and the United States because my parents were just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-sharp/i-spent-the-first-seven-years-of-my-life-in-a-caravan-traveling/) [Alex Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-sharp/) > [“You should pay more attention to the caravan," the boy said to the Englishman, after the camel driver had left. "We make a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-should-pay-more-attention-to-the-caravan-the-boy-said-to-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I was glad to know that 'Caravan' was one of the first movies from Bollywood that was loved by the Chinese audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeetendra/i-was-glad-to-know-that-caravan-was-one-of-the-first-movies-from/) [Jeetendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeetendra/) > [The dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-dogs-may-bark-but-the-caravan-moves-on/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) ## More by Italo Calvino > [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The Great Khan tried to concentrate on the game: but now it was the game’s reason that eluded him. The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) [Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## More Camel quotes > [Expediency is a law of nature. The camel is a wonderful animal, but the desert made the camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/expediency-is-a-law-of-nature-the-camel-is-a-wonderful-animal-but-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Death is a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdelkader-el-djezairi/death-is-a-black-camel-which-kneels-at-the-gates-of-all/) [Abdelkader El Djezairi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdelkader-el-djezairi/) > [“Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel-is-a-horse-made-by-a-committee/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [You'd think that would have been forgotten long ago. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“I want to know about the future because I’m a man,” the camel driver had said to the seer. “And men always live their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-want-to-know-about-the-future-because-i-m-a-man-the-camel-driver/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [He runs like a camel. A really pissed off camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-donovan/he-runs-like-a-camel-a-really-pissed-off-camel/) [Art Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-donovan/) > [“Many people still believe that “tough guy” means having a camel type muscles rather than a lion heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/many-people-still-believe-that-tough-guy-means-having-a-camel-type/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Ah, the camel of Cairo! ... He went quietly and comfortably through the narrowest lanes and the densest crowds by the mere force of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-jeannette-duncan/ah-the-camel-of-cairo-he-went-quietly-and-comfortably-through-the/) [Sara Jeannette Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-jeannette-duncan/) > [“I saw the camel put on its shirt An leave without tears for Mecca With a thousand and one Sand sellers and Dark crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-mansour/i-saw-the-camel-put-on-its-shirt-an-leave-without-tears-for-mecca/) [Joyce Mansour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-mansour/) > [“A blanket could be used to wrap up all the love I have to offer you, so it’ll be easier for you to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-wrap-up-all-the-love-i-have-to-offer-you/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Is there a right end of a camel for your head to be in?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-j-caile/is-there-a-right-end-of-a-camel-for-your-head-to-be-in/) [Dani J Caile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-j-caile/) > [A single camel can carry around 300 kilograms. Using camels for hauling during migration is becoming a rarity in Mongolia, where mechanized transport is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cope/a-single-camel-can-carry-around-300-kilograms-using-camels-for/) [Tim Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cope/) > [The difference between camels and men; a camel can work a week and not drink; a man can drink a week and not work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-tuwim/the-difference-between-camels-and-men-a-camel-can-work-a-week-and-not/) [Julian Tuwim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-tuwim/) [Browse all 103 Camel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a camel from whose pack hang wineskins and bags of candies fruit, date wine, tobacco leaves, and already he sees himself as the head of a long caravan taking him away from the desert of the sea, toward oases of fresh water in the palm trees' jagged shade, toward palaces of thick, whitewashed walls, tiled courts where girls are dancing barefoot, moving their arms, half-hidden by their veils, half-revealed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Italo Calvino" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-it-as-a-camel-from-whose-pack/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Camel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-it-as-a-camel-from-whose-pack/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/italo-calvino-402_fresh-water_he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-i_729672.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/italo-calvino-402_fresh-water_he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-i_729672.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/italo-calvino-402_fresh-water_he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-i_729672.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a camel from whose pack hang wineskins and bags of candies…” — Italo Calvino", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Italo Calvino", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...he knows it is a city,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-it-as-a-camel-from-whose-pack/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/he-knows-it-is-a-city-but-he-thinks-of-it-as-a-camel-from-whose-pack/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```