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The Fountain Garden
The Fountain Garden is modeled after the Court of Lions at the Alhambra, a 14th-century Moorish palace and fortress in Granada, Spain, now included on UNESCO's World Heritage List. (Moor is a general term for North American Muslims who conquered Spain in the 8th century.) The legendary Court features a chahar bagh -- a Persian term meaning "four gardens" -- pattern of four quadrants formed by water channels that meet at a central fountain.
The Fountain Garden suggests a walled paradise, an important concept in early Persian and Islamic garden design. Water channels on top of the low walls around the central fountain represent the four rivers of paradise (water, wine, honey, milk), while the bubbling center jet symbolizes eternity. At the garden's north end, a "veil" of water cascades down a carved stone wall. |