Islamic garden

Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities An Islamic garden is generally an expressive estate of land that includes themes of water and shade.

Their most identifiable architectural design reflects the charbagh (or chahār bāgh) quadrilateral layout with four smaller gardens divided by walkways or flowing water.

Numerous formal Islamic gardens have survived in a wide zone extending from Spain and Morocco in the west to India in the east.

[2] Hellenistic influences are also apparent in their design, as seen in the use of straight lines in a few garden plans that are also blended with Sassanid ornamental plantations and fountains.

[3] One of the most identifiable garden designs, known as the charbagh (or chahār bāgh), consists of four quadrants most commonly divided by either water channels or walkways, that took on many forms.

[4] Notable examples of the charbagh include the former Bulkawara Palace in Samarra, Iraq,[5] and Madinat al-Zahra near Córdoba, Spain.

[10] Classical literature and poetry on the subject allow scholars to investigate the cultural significance of water and plants, which embody religious, symbolic, and practical qualities.

Water was an integral part of the landscape architecture and served many sensory functions, such as a desire for interaction, illusionary reflections, and animation of still objects, thereby stimulating visual, auditory and somatosensory senses.

[8] In general, mirroring the surrounding structures combined with the vegetation and the sky creates a visual effect that expands the enclosed space of a garden.

[10] In the Alhambra Palace, around the rim of the basin of the Fountain of the Lions, the admiration for the water's virtue is inscribed: "Silver melting which flows between jewels, one like the other in beauty, white in purity; a running stream evokes the illusion of a solid substance; for the eyes, so that we wonder which one is fluid.

[8] As the central component of Islamic architecture, water incorporates the religious implications and contributes to the spiritual, bodily and emotional experience that visitors could hardly acquire from the outside world.

[12] There is, however, record of various fruit-bearing trees and flowers that contributed to the aromatic aspect of the garden, such as cherries, peaches, almonds, jasmine, roses, narcissi, violets, and lilies.

Islamic medico-botanical literature suggests the erotic nature of some aromatic plants, and medieval Muslim poets note the role of scents in love games.

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah reflects the scents worn by lovers to attract each other, and the presence of aromatic bouquets that provides sensual pleasures in garden spaces.

[17] Examples of exotic plants found in royal gardens include pomegranates, Dunaqāl figs, a variety of pears, bananas, sugar cane and apples, which provided a rare taste.

[clarification needed][8] The irregular flow of water and the angles of sunlight were the primary tools used to create a mysterious experience in the garden.

[22] These fruit trees, along with areas of shade and cooling water, were added because it was believed that the souls of the deceased could enjoy them in the afterlife.

[22] Fountains, often found in the center of the gardens, were used to represent paradise and were most commonly octagonal, which is geometrically inclusive of a square and a circle.

Pre-Islamic and Umayyad cultures imagined serene and rich gardens of paradise that provided an oasis in the arid environment in which they often lived.

The magnificent size of palace gardens directly showed an individual's financial capabilities and sovereignty while overwhelming their audiences.

A lack of botanical accuracy in the historical record has made it impossible to properly restore the agriculture to its original state.

[28] Al-Ruṣāfa, near the village of the same name in present-day northern Syria, was a palace with an enclosed garden at the country estate of Umayyad caliph Hishām I.

This portal's second story allowed people to gain an entire view of the nearby landscapes, including a large pool, pavilions and gardens.

[31] Symmetrically-divided courtyard gardens, later known as a riyad (or riad), would go on to become a typical feature of western Islamic architecture in the Maghreb and al-Andalus, including later Andalusi palaces such as the Aljaferia and the Alhambra.

[34] The earliest known example of a riyad garden in the western Maghreb (present-day Morocco) was the palace built by the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf in Marrakesh in the early 12th century, although it is only known from archeological excavations.

Although it has been modified and replanted over the centuries, two major elements have been preserved from the original design: the Acequia ("canal") Court and the "water stairway" that went to the upper level of the estate.

[42] One documented exception to this general Ottoman trend was the Karabali Garden, laid out in the early 16th century in Kabataş, which had four symmetrical quadrants divided by axial paths.

[42] Evliya Çelebi's 17th century travel book Seyahatnâme contains descriptions of paradise gardens around the towns of Berat and Elbasan, in present-day Albania.

Çelebi similarly describes the town of Elbasan as having luxurious homes with vineyards, paradise gardens and well-appointed parks, each with a pool and fountain of pure water.

[43] The building of Chehel Sotoun, Isfahan was completed by Safavid Shah 'Abbas II at 1647, with a reception hall and a fifteen-acre garden.