Wandering minstrel Ashik Kerib falls in love with a rich merchant's daughter, but is spurned by her father and forced to roam the world for a thousand and one nights. Now presumed dead by those he loves, he performs for the poor and unfortunate on his journeys through the wilderness. Parajanov's visually ravishing 'tableaux vivants' tell Lermontov's romantic tale while Turkish and Azerbaijani folk songs transport us into its mystical landscapes.

Nathanael, a young scientist, arrives in a small resort town. A sensitive and kind mentor not only becomes the idol of all boys who dream of long-distance travel, but also engages children in the search for treasures hidden in a medieval fortress.