Tales from Aran'sha - Flames of inspiration

So...first of all, a big thanks to Ebelt for hosting this challenge.Its a really cool idea and doing something like this for Aran'sha was long overdue. With that being said, lets dive right into it!

What is the main thing or one of the main things that inspired your world(s)?

This is a bit of a tale. I am (by choice) a forever DM (thats a Dungeonmaster for those not familiar with pen and paper games, think of it as the stories narrator).
I love telling stories, spinning tales and suprising people with strange and wonderful worlds. I've done this for a while - over 25 years by now. However, after all this time, I wanted to have a different setting than the common middle european fantasy setting (there's nothing wrong with it, it just grew a bit stale to me).

I thought for...almost a whole minute about it and then the idea of Aran'sha kinda took root. Inspired by tales of arabian nights,I started out with a desert area... and quickly fell in love with the concept. From there it grew, region by region, piece by piece. And somehow, it never stopped.

What is your favorite aspect of your story/world and what inspired that aspect?

My favorite thing about Aran'sha is the feeling of exploration and wonder,. To be a traveller or hero in this magical world where djinnis and magic dance. Even as a child, I always admired tales of the desert, stories of buried civilisations and delvers into lost ruins . And that is the main thing I want to evoke in my players and readers too - a sense of awe and wonder, never knowing what strange sight and wonders hide behind the next corner. And to be quite honest - sometimes even I do not know before you turn that corner.
Regarding that, I have barely begun to write of the wonders of Aran'sha. There's the jungles to the east, a mysterious swamp to the north and many more tales about the steppes, the obsidian wastes and the desert kingdoms - for who knows what still slumbers beneath the sands?

What are some writers/worldbuilders that inspire you to write/worldbuild?

I tend to draw inspiration from a lot of places and depending on the topic it may vary. For example, my cities are inspired by babylonian and egyptian cities, while my children of the steppes are inspired by nomadic tribes all over the world

Writers and Books:

Arabian Nights, no doubt about this one

A LOT of persian myth and tales. e.g, the "Shah Nameh" , the book of kings

Mongolian and chinese folk tales

Egyptian and african myths

"Southlands" by Kobold Games ,

"Sandstorm" from Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition

The whole Al'Quadim setting of Dungeons and Dragons,

Karl Mays "Orient" Series

The Daevabad Trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty

A bunch of nature books, because there are a lot of strange and wonderful places on our planet

And many more...

Worldbuilders that inspire me:

Han for all her strange and wonderful stories in Istralar

Polina "Line" Arteev - especially her new world Ayun Sovos that welcomes you with open arms (and pumpkin pie)

Demongrey - for pure tenacity (Demongrey releases an article a day like clockwork) and a completely unique take on reality in the million islands

Tillerz - for the wonderful TTRPG world Alana that is full of plot hooks and wonderful tales

And so, so many more that I cant list them all here (but I'll add some more if I remember to do so). Every tale i read by this community has given me loads of inspiration and still you continue to dazzle me with ideas.