Elements which all Islamic Gardens Share
Islamic gardens exist across a huge and varied area – from Spain in the west to India and Central Asia in the east.
Islamic gardens serve a variety of purposes
- Large royal gardens like the Shalamar Gardens in Pakistan and the Generalife in Spain, which have been mentioned.
- Courtyard gardens of private homes, large and small.
- Gardens of tea-houses.
- Gardens of religious buildings, like medresses.
- Gardens surrounding the tomb of an important person, like the Taj Mahal in Agra, India or the poet Hafez’ tomb garden in Shiraz, Iran.
Islamic gardens vary widely in size.
- Some are large walled gardens with fast-flowing, turquoise tiled water channels, lined with tall dark cypress trees, and many little fountains and star-shaped rose beds and a richly decorated pavilion at their centre.
- Others are small courtyards with maybe an eight-sided pool with jade-coloured water, a little fountain, four orange trees and a deep arched recess with seats, shaded in summer and sheltered on cool evenings.
Throughout the Islamic world, gardens of different sizes and purposes share the following:
- Love of the sight and sound of water is at their heart.
- They are enclosed by rectangular walls, mysterious from outside and private within.
- Lay-out is symmetrical, geometric, harmonious.
- Gardens are used to evoke feelings of peace, harmony and happiness.