The paradise garden is a form of garden of Old Iranian origin, specifically Achaemenid. Originally denominated by a single noun denoting “a walled-in compound or garden”, from “pairi” (“around”) and “daeza” or “diz” (“wall”, “brick”, or “shape”), Xenophon Grecized the Persian phrase “pairi-daeza” into “Paradeisos”. The idea of the enclosed garden is often referred to as the paradise garden because of additional Indo-European connotations of “paradise”.
“The semblance of Paradise (cennet) promised the pious and devout [is that of a garden] with streams of water that will not go rank, and rivers of milk whose taste will not undergo a change, and rivers of wine delectable to drinkers, and streams of purified honey, and fruits of every kind in them, and forgiveness from their lord”
According to the Qur’an, paradise is described as a place, a final destination. Basically the eternal life, that is filled with “spiritual and physical” happiness. Earth gardens in the Ottoman period were highly impacted by paradise, therefore connected with the arts and spaces of the everyday life, having many descriptions relating to the Qur’an. Hence, gardens, or “Earthly Paradise”, are abstract perceptions of heaven, as a result must symbolize a serene place that shows “eternity and peace”.
Nature became a method for decorative patterns in architectural details and urban structure. Everything was inspired by nature and became included with nature. From the ceilings of the mosques and the walls of the palaces, kiosks and summer palaces (pavilions), which were all embellished with tiles, frescoes and hand-carved ornaments, to the kaftans, the yashmaks and so much more. Clearly paradise’s nature was everywhere; in many spaces of the daily life.
Without a doubt the general layout of the gardens did reflect many descriptions in the Qur’an, yet one of the great strengths of early Islam, was that Muslims looked at different sources and used useful ideas and techniques from diverse sources, particularly Byzantium. Garden pavilions often took the form of square or centrally planned free-standing structures open on all sides, designed specifically to enjoy the sight, scent and music of the environment. Some of the forms of the gardens were based for instance on the Hagia Sophia’s atrium, which has cypresses around a central fountain, and the plantings in the mosques were given a “specifically Muslim theological interpretation”. The mosques expanded its functions and services, by adding hospitals, madars, libraries, etc., and therefore gardens helped organize the elements for all the various buildings.
In Islamic cities, such as the Ottoman cities, where the mosques were considered as the “focal” point, it was common for mosques to have adjacent gardens. Therefore, mosque structures were based somewhat to relate to the gardens. For example, the Sulemaniye mosque, had windows in the qibla wall to create continuity with the garden outside. The mihrab had stained glass windows and iznik tiles that suggest a gate into paradise. The windows looking outwards to the garden to create the effect in which flowers from the garden act as if it would “perfume the minds of the congregation as if they have entered heaven.” Also, Rüstem Pasha mosque was known for its usage of izink tiles, where the decoration design provides a showcase for the iznik tile industry. The inscriptions on pendentives suggest that the soul of the devout is certain to reside in paradise. The main inscriptions in these mosques were of water and ponds, kiosks, fruits such as pomegranates, apples, pears, grapes, etc. Also wine, dance, music, serving women and boys, all which turn the entertainment vision into a “paradise on earth”.
Apart from the mosques, cities were also developed into “extremely friendly cities”. They had grape arbors in shaded narrow streets, corners with trees and gardens. Trees were thought to be the balancing element of architecture that provided harmony between nature and buildings. For that reason, Ottoman cities “look as though they are extensions of the piece of land where they were built”. Also the usage of timber in the buildings add to the connection with nature. A Turkish architect and city planner, Turgut Cansever, described the Ottoman cities as the “Ottoman paradises‟ and said that the Islamic characteristics are best represented by the Ottoman cities. “The ones who build the paradise where there exist no conflicts but all the beauties, tried to rise and open the Gates of paradise by accomplishing the task of beautifying the world.” The intimate relationship of architecture with nature attracted the element of trees and water. With its exclusively natural “synthesis structure”, the Ottoman city was green, as many travelers have described it. Also, water was a fundamental element, as was the cypress tree. Antoine Galland wrote, “Turkish gardens were conduits and little channels which took water everywhere and from which water was extracted under pressure.” However, there is no evidence in the first four centuries of Islam that gardens were consciously designed with four quadrants and four water channels in order to represent paradise as the Qur’an described it.
Qualities
The essential qualities of the paradise garden derive from its original, arid or semi-arid homeland. The fundamental quality is enclosure of the cultivated area, which excludes the wildness of nature and includes cultivated and irrigated greenery, providing privacy and security. The most common design of the perimeter walls is that of a rectangle, and this forms one of its primary qualities. Another common quality is the elaborate use of water, often in canals, ponds, or rills, sometimes in fountains, and less often in waterfalls. The rectangular or rectilinear design is often extended to the water features, which typically quarter the garden. This design derives from or is echoed in that of the Garden of Eden, which in Genesis is described as having a central spring that feeds four rivers, which each flow out into the world beyond. Much of the use and symbolism of the paradise garden is derived from the Garden of Eden. It was designed to symbolize eternal life. A tree with a spring issuing from its roots especially symbolizes this. Additionally, the contrast of a formal garden design with the informality of freely growing plants is a recurring theme in many paradise gardens. Odor and fruit are important elements of this garden.
Planning
The style of the paradise garden is based on the arid or semi-arid environment of its place of origin. In the first place, this is the isolation of the territory being treated, the walls. This allows you to protect the plants from the environment, which they are cared for and watered. The most simple and widespread form of walls is a quadrangle, and it has become one of the main elements of the garden. Another common element is water, often in channels , ponds or streams, sometimes in fountains , less common – in the form of waterfalls of various types.
Rectangular or rectilinear garden themes extend to water forms, which are often used to divide the garden into four parts. This planning is an echo of the four year garden of Eden , and much of the symbolism of this garden comes from this connection. The often paradise theme of gardens is the contrast between regular garden planning and the informal nature of freely growing plants.
Derived garden types
The paradise garden is one of the few original and fundamental kinds of garden from which all gardens in history derive, sometimes in combinations. In its simplest form, the paradise garden consists of a formal, rectangular pool, having a flow just sufficient to give it movement, and with a dais from which to observe it. However, a pavilion provides more permanent shelter than the original tent. Strictly aligned, formally arranged trees, especially the chenar or Platanus, provide shade.
The Achaemenid kings built paradise gardens within enclosed royal hunting parks, these being a different tradition of landscape gardening, which they inherited from the Assyrians, for whom the ritual lion hunt was a rite that authenticated kingship, being far more than a mere sport.
Many of the Islamic horticultural traditions and later European traditions derive from that of the paradise garden. Examples of the paradise garden and its derivations are present in many of the historic gardens of Islamic and European nations. In the east, by way of the Persian garden it gave rise to the Mughal gardens of India, a late example of which is the garden of the Taj Mahal in Agra. In the farthest west, it informed the paved and tiled courtyards, arcades, and pools and fountains of Moorish Andalusia. The fundamental design of the Gardens of Versailles in France almost replicates the paradise gardens of Pasargad, and the gardens of the Louvre in Paris appear inspired by them. Another example is the Bahá’í Terraces and Mansion of Bahjí on Mount Carmel in Israel, both of which have extensive gardens of intricate design.
Source From Wikipedia