Gardens of Delight: The Great Islamic Gardens
Gardens of Delight: The Great Islamic Gardens. By Christa Van Hantelmann
This is a field I’ve always had a mild curiosity over, and this was my first foray into Islamic Gardens and Architecture. The book is a very simple yet good primer on Islamic Gardens. It includes 100+ large photos of current day Islamic Gardens in Spain, Syria, Morocco, Pakistan and India.
Typically sampling 5 of the biggest in each area, the author provides a very simple explanation of what, where and why of the gardens. It was great for me, as I have such little understanding of the gardens.
On the negative side, there was some mis-information throughout. Such as bad translations of the Quran, misunderstandings of basic Islamic Garden principles and the like. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.
A great book, and a steal under $20.