I always thought that story of Aladdin was set in the Middle East because its 90’s cartoon intro uses “Arabian” Nights words.
But, a Quora answer challenged this belief. According to it, the story was set in India, not the Middle East. It compared the Sultan’s palace with the Taj Mahal.
The palace isn’t a powerful point because India was once ruled by immigrants from the Middle East, so the architecture can match. But, another point challenged my belief:
This is literally a Bengal Tiger which is found only in India. (Shere Khan in The Jungle Book belonged to the same endangered species, but the book clearly mentioned that the story took place in India.)
The Quora answer didn’t comment on Arabian Nights, but I believe it’s possible that the TV show used these words because the book 1001 Nights (which has Aladdin's story) is known in English as Arabian Nights. Although the book contains Middle Eastern folk tales, it’s possible that a folk tale can be about a faraway land and India is a good fit as it was known as land of mystics. So, I am confused.
Where did the original story of Aladdin take place?