A Hungarian-born linguist, Kúnos  studied the Turkish dialect and folk tradition, and collected several volumes of oral fairytales, not through reading and study, but by travelling around the Turkish country and listening to storytellers.

“The fairyland of the Turks is approached by a threefold road, in most cases the realm can be reached only on the back of a Pegasus, or by the aid of the peris (fairies). One must either ascend to the seventh sphere above the earth by the help of the anka-bird (Phoenix), or descend to the seventh sphere below the earth by the help of a dew. A multitude of serais (palaces) and kiosks are at the disposal of the heroes of the tales ,- thousands of birds of gayest plumage warble their tuneful lays, and in the flower-gardens the most wonderful odours intoxicate the senses.”