H I S TO R I C A L C O N T E X T O F L A N D S C A P E A R C H I T E C T U R E
Early Southern and Northern European Garden Design Traditions The Islamic Garden The English word garden is jardin in Spanish and French, and Garten in German. The words share a linguistic origin. The meaning of the word can be traced to Hebrew origins, a contraction of gan or gar meaning to protect or defend (to fence or enclose) and eden meaning pleasure. The two words joined together came to mean pleasure garden, as an enclosed space not meant for agriculture production. A garden is symbolic in the form of a cared-for cultivated place for enjoyment. Garden also came to be associated with the biblical Garden of Eden or Paradise. The gar half of the word suggests to guard and this could be applied to mean the enclosing of Eden as a walled or private garden. Symbolically the Garden of Eden of Mesopotamia is a concept shared in the Judeo-Christian-Islam biblical traditions. In the biblical context, the Garden of Eden contains four rivers consisting of water, milk, wine, and honey: all symbols of sustenance. The Garden of Eden translates in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa as an oasis where travelers would come to rest and be revived with shade, water, and nourishment; see Figure 4.3. The four rivers
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Figure 4.3 A: A desert oasis in North Africa; B:The summer palace and estate of the Emirate of Granada adjoining the Alhambra Court of la Acequia (water channel court or water garden), an example of a medieval Persian garden constructed during 1302 to 1309; C: Public space in Madrid, Spain. 71
