Islamic Garden

Over the centuries, Islamic civilisation has shown a marked interest in nature, based on Koranic premises where by the contemplation of nature can be a fount of knowledge.

According to Islamic tradition, nature was created as a source of spiritual inspiration and also as sustenance. But this does not give human beings the right to exploit it and dominate it indiscriminately. They are just its managers, its beneficiaries.

This love of nature led Moslems to create beautiful gardens for contemplation and enjoyment, as can still be seen in the Alhambra in Granada, in Syria, Turkey, Iran and the Maghreb. They also developed agrarian, experimental and acclimatisation schemes, particularly in al-Andalus, which were the precursors of the botanic gardens of the Renaissance.

These examples present a style of gardening that was characterised by the use of both native and exotic species, many of them having been transferred from eastern regions of the Mediterranean, or from North Africa and the Near East.

These botanical species had a marked ornamental value but were also appreciated for their fruit, wood, resin and medicinal properties. Aesthetic values were thus combined with the utility of plants that were acclimatised for agricultural or therapeutic purposes. They were generally grown in orchards in which production was complemented by a design created to please the senses. These gardens and orchards were sometimes associated with the power and nobility of their rulers and over time achieved great beauty and complexity, providing one of the most exciting chapters in the history of gardening.

The gardens of al-Andalus were the result of great cultural wealth and high levels of technical and scientific know-how not only regarding cultivation but also and especially water management,

biological pest and disease control and the balanced use of soil and natural fertilisers.

Today this management method would be called organic. It also fits in perfectly with today�s commitment to the correct use and conservation of biodiversity and the sustainability criteria that characterise the modern paradigm for relations between human beings and natural resources.�

                                               Islamic Culture Foundation, Spain-MEDOMED Project

 

To learn more about Islam in Spain visit the following links

• Islamic Culture Foundation
• The Date Palm Grove of Elche, Valencia, Spain
• City of Granada
• Pictures of La Alhambra
• Ibn Jafaya, also called "The Gardener", poet from XII-XIII century, Alcira, Valencia, Spain

More than one thousand years ago, Europe experienced one of its greatest periods of cultural enlightenment.
For more than three centuries in Medieval Spain, Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together and prospered in a thriving multicultural civilization.

Here, remarkable individuals of different faiths made lasting contributions in such areas as poetry, art, architecture, music, dining etiquette, science, agriculture, medicine, engineering, navigation, textiles,  hydraulic technology and even gardening.