0:00:05 > 0:00:09The desert is beautiful,
0:00:09 > 0:00:14but it is a harsh and relentless place,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19and the people that live here, above all, dream of an oasis,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22green and with abundant water.
0:00:23 > 0:00:29And that water is not just to make the crops grow
0:00:29 > 0:00:35with fruits and grains, but it is life itself.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40We speak of our gardens being a little piece of paradise,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44but for desert people, a garden -
0:00:44 > 0:00:50green and filled with water - is heaven on earth.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54It is paradise.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59I'm setting out to explore these Islamic paradise gardens
0:00:59 > 0:01:01that are born from the desert.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04I shall visit gardens as symbols of power,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08gardens that are set around magnificent tombs,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12as well as those made purely for delight.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I'll be discovering secret gardens in Morocco...
0:01:15 > 0:01:20Ooh, this is very different. Very different indeed.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23..be dazzled by Turkish tulips.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I've never seen anything like it,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and I'm really not sure how to react.
0:01:29 > 0:01:35I will travel to Iran to visit the gardens of ancient Persia,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38and uncover the origins of a style of garden
0:01:38 > 0:01:41that swept right across the world.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I've long been fascinated by paradise gardens,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54but confess that my knowledge of them is very limited.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57So, in this series, I'm setting out to discover
0:01:57 > 0:02:03as much as I can about their history and what makes them so special.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07The Koran, the holy book of Islam,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11has many descriptions of wonderful gardens
0:02:11 > 0:02:16filled with fragrant flowers, fruit, and, above all, water.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21And so I'm beginning my journey in Andalusia, in Southern Spain.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25For centuries, Spain has been inextricably bound
0:02:25 > 0:02:26with European culture...
0:02:29 > 0:02:33..but it also has a long and rich Islamic history.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39I'm starting here, at the Alhambra,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and this spread out below me is the great palace
0:02:43 > 0:02:46with a whole series of gardens,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50all of them made during the Islamic rule of Spain,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54which lasted for over 800 years.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00In fact, Southern Spain was Islamic
0:03:00 > 0:03:04for almost as long as it's been Christian,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and under the Moors, it was known as Al-Andalus.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15The Alhambra can seem an unlikely garden -
0:03:15 > 0:03:18it looks like a fortress, a palace -
0:03:18 > 0:03:23but the gardens are an integral and key element of the place,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and they can't be separated from it.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31The Alhambra, which means red fort in Arabic,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35is, in fact, a series of connecting palaces and gardens
0:03:35 > 0:03:38that have been added to over the centuries.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Sitting across a small valley,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and above the main complex of buildings,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48is the summer palace of the Generalife.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53It dates back to the 13th century, and its 800-year-old inner courtyard
0:03:53 > 0:03:57has become one of the most iconic gardens in the world.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01This courtyard of the Generalife
0:04:01 > 0:04:03is the jewel in the crown of the Alhambra,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06and millions have come here and been captivated by it.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10It does feel like a piece of paradise.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13But the elements that make it up - the sunken beds, the water,
0:04:13 > 0:04:18the planting - have meaning, and I want to uncover that meaning.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23The Alhambra was conquered by the Christians
0:04:23 > 0:04:26at the end of the 15th century.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27The Moors were driven out,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31and the palace occupied by Castilian monarchs.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33But the Islamic elements that made this
0:04:33 > 0:04:37one of the great paradise gardens are still clearly visible.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I've visited the Alhambra a number of times.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46To help me understand more about the essential building blocks
0:04:46 > 0:04:50of a paradise garden, I'm meeting up with Jesus Moraime,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53who's an expert on the Alhambra.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57He takes me first to the Courtyard of the Myrtles.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01What were the key features of these Islamic gardens?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03What did they have to have?
0:05:03 > 0:05:08Well, water is the main feature for every Islamic garden.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Water will form the garden everywhere.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Here, we are in a courtyard garden, and the water,
0:05:15 > 0:05:20we have this huge water tank that acts as a mirror,
0:05:20 > 0:05:25reflecting the stars and also reflecting the architecture.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26Now, it was a mirror,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30but also it was talking about the power of the sultan.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34In northern Europe, we walked in our gardens.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- Gardens were somewhere where you walk.- Mm-hm.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- How would they have used them? - Yeah. Well, the galleries...
0:05:39 > 0:05:42As you see, there are galleries on both sides of the courtyard.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46The galleries were also a main element in Islamic gardens.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Galleries, pavilions, arbours, shaded places
0:05:49 > 0:05:52to look onto the garden from there.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00The importance of water is echoed in the adjoining palace,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02the Courtyard of the Lions,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06which was the heart of the sultan's private dwellings.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Tell me what we're looking at here, and the significance of it.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14We have, again, the water as a main element forming the garden.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18- So, we have a main basin... - Yes.- ..in marble.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21That is a very huge piece that is supposed to be put here
0:06:21 > 0:06:24before the construction of the rest of the palace,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27because we cannot put in through any of the doors.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30So, the basin was first, and they built the palace around it?
0:06:30 > 0:06:31Yeah. Of course, yeah.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35And when they built the palace,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38they filled it with references to the desert.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42So, the 124 stone columns around the outside of the open courtyard
0:06:42 > 0:06:47are suggestive of palm trees fringing an oasis.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51This central court is divided into four equal sections.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54How important is that division into four?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Well, this is one of the main typology of the gardens -
0:06:57 > 0:06:59an Islamic garden.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Talking about the four elements, the four seasons of the year,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05in some ways, a representation of paradise.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11The four quadrants are separated by stone-lined water channels,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13each symbolic of the rivers of Paradise
0:07:13 > 0:07:15as described in the Koran.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18The Koran makes those rivers a bit magical,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22and one of the rivers was milk, another was of honey,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24another was of water, and another was of wine.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27So, wow, it was really a paradise.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Although the Court of Lions is now floored entirely in white marble,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35originally, each of the four quarters
0:07:35 > 0:07:39would have been filled with plants.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41With flowers, very colourful and scented.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45As all the decoration, all of these are made as decorations...
0:07:45 > 0:07:47So, the plaster would all have been painted?
0:07:47 > 0:07:48Yeah, it was all painted.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53So, the water, the division into four parts,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55flowering meadows, and colour.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Yeah. Stunning. Amazing!
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Despite over 500 years of Christian occupation,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09the footprint of Islam can still clearly be seen
0:08:09 > 0:08:11in the gardens of the Alhambra.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25From Granada, I'm now going west to Seville,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30which is another Andalusian city with an enduring Islamic heritage.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34And of all the gifts the Arabs brought to Europe,
0:08:34 > 0:08:39one is more closely associated with Seville than anywhere else,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41and that is the orange.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45We think of oranges as being archetypally Spanish,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47but they were brought to Spain,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50along with a mass of other fruits, by the Arabs,
0:08:50 > 0:08:56because fruitfulness was one of the key features of their gardens.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01There are said to be over 40,000 orange trees in Seville,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05and when they're in flower, the fragrance is stunning.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Certainly this particular garden, right in the centre of the city,
0:09:11 > 0:09:12is full of them.
0:09:12 > 0:09:18The Real Alcazar is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22It was originally built by the Moors in the 10th century,
0:09:22 > 0:09:27but was rebuilt in the 1360s by King Pedro the Cruel,
0:09:27 > 0:09:32who, despite earning his title by being despotic and unpredictable,
0:09:32 > 0:09:33was devoutly Catholic.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38And his palace retained, or reinstated,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41much of the original Islamic architecture
0:09:41 > 0:09:43and detail of the earlier building.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49And the result is a classic example of the Mudejar style -
0:09:49 > 0:09:53a symbiosis of Islam and Christianity.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57A feature of the Alcazar, which I've not seen anywhere else,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01is the way that citrus is used en masse.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05So, you've got citrus grown up against walls clipped tight,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07citrus grown as clipped hedges,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12and the net effect of that is cool green,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15providing shade and calm
0:10:15 > 0:10:19beneath what can be an unbearably hot sun.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23The bitter orange, Citrus aurantium,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27was brought to Spain by the Moors around the 10th century.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29It's too tart to enjoy raw,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32but it was prized by them for its highly fragrant oil,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36and is still one of the principal ingredients in many modern perfumes.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39The love of citrus is evident in the way
0:10:39 > 0:10:42that some of the palace buildings were used.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The Courtyard of the Maidens was designed
0:10:44 > 0:10:47as a place to entertain guests,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51who would be greeted by the heady scent of orange blossom.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56It is in this courtyard that you really see the Islamic influence
0:10:56 > 0:11:00on the way that the citrus are grown,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04because the trees are planted in deeply sunken beds,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07so I'm standing here looking down on them.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10The fragrance is reaching me direct.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12And the fruit, as they ripen and appear,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15are there for me just to reach out and pluck.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18So, the whole experience is immersive,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20it's direct, it's immediate,
0:11:20 > 0:11:25and that is one of the really important essences
0:11:25 > 0:11:26of the paradise garden.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34It was to be another 500 years before our familiar sweet orange,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Citrus sinensis, arrived in Spain.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40But the bitter species proved perfect
0:11:40 > 0:11:43for making a particular kind of jam.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48There is a direct family connection with these oranges from Seville,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52because my great-great-great-grandmother,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Annie Keiller, from Dundee,
0:11:54 > 0:11:59bought a load of Seville oranges that were in ship,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03which were going to rot, and she made them into marmalade.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07And from that, the Keiller marmalade business grew,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10which went on to make really quite a substantial fortune,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13none of which, I hasten to add, has reached me.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17But it was all based on oranges from here,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21introduced by the Arabs.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29As well as oranges, the Arabs introduced a wide variety
0:12:29 > 0:12:32of plants and fruits to Spain,
0:12:32 > 0:12:37including date palms, pomegranates,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40rosemary and bay,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44and all of these came from the Islamic East.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Now, many of these plants are mentioned in the Koran,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and Emma Clark is an expert on Islamic gardens,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55so I talked to her at the Alcazar about the influence of Islam
0:12:55 > 0:12:59and the Koran on garden design and planting.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02What is often mentioned in the Koranic descriptions
0:13:02 > 0:13:04is fruits of all kind.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Fruits and herbs - everything with a scent.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Scent is incredibly important.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Well, one of the things - you walk into this garden here,
0:13:11 > 0:13:16and, immediately, the fragrance is astonishing.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Was that always an important part of the garden?
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Yes, I would say always.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23This idea of the zahir and the batin,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25which is the outward and the inward.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27You open the doors of this high wall,
0:13:27 > 0:13:31and, inside, you're hit by this beautiful bath of scent,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35and water and greenery. You know, that's what you're longing for
0:13:35 > 0:13:38when you've been tramping across the desert.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42What is meant by a paradise garden, in terms of Islam?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It's a symbol, or a representation,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49of the archetypal eternal heavenly garden.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53It's attempting to give you a taste of this beautiful paradise
0:13:53 > 0:13:57that you may, inshallah, go to.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Repetition of geometric shapes in all paradise gardens
0:14:01 > 0:14:04helps to emphasise this heavenly link.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Quite often, in an Islamic garden, you will have circular fountains.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10A circle is always a symbol of heaven.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13The square is always a symbol of Earth.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15- Right.- So, this beautiful conjunction
0:14:15 > 0:14:18often takes place in a garden to remind ourselves
0:14:18 > 0:14:21this is a meeting place between heaven and Earth.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23The paradise garden is mentioned many, many times
0:14:23 > 0:14:24throughout the Koran.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Jannat-ul-Firdous - gardens of paradise.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30But the chapter where the descriptions are fullest
0:14:30 > 0:14:34and most beautiful are in what's called Surat ar-Rahman,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Chapter of the All Merciful - chapter 55.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41And the phrase most often used throughout the Koran,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44"Jannat tajri min tahtiha al-anhar" -
0:14:44 > 0:14:47"Gardens underneath which rivers flow."
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Clearly, water's important. What's the symbolism of it?
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- Many-layered symbolism in water. - OK.- We have to have water to live.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58It is the most important element in an Islamic garden
0:14:58 > 0:15:01because, of course, the Islamic garden was born in a hot climate.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06When rain came, it was a blessing, it was a mercy from heaven.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09But on another level also, it's symbolic of the soul.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13It seems to me you're saying you cannot have
0:15:13 > 0:15:16an Islamic paradise garden without water.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18- No.- It's an essential.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22What's the significance of four?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25The Islamic garden is divided into four.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30- Why?- It's the "charbagh", which means four gardens in Persian,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and there are also the four rivers of Paradise.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36It's an order and a proportion
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and a harmony which underlies everything.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44That is taking gardening to a level which the average person
0:15:44 > 0:15:46probably doesn't touch upon.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49PEACOCK SHRIEKS
0:15:49 > 0:15:53But it is clear the gardens of the Alhambra and the Alcazar
0:15:53 > 0:15:57represent an enriching blend of cultures, religions and styles,
0:15:57 > 0:16:01with the influence of Islam still powerfully present.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10It's not just gardens and architecture that combines.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Anybody who visits Spain thinks of paella
0:16:13 > 0:16:15as the classic Spanish dish,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19but it was the Arabs that introduced rice to the country.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22But the relationship between the Spanish and the Moors
0:16:22 > 0:16:25wasn't always harmonious.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30On the 2nd of January 1492, the Alhambra fell to the Christians,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34and Moorish rule in Spain came to an end.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Within ten years, most of the huge Muslim population
0:16:37 > 0:16:41were expelled across the Straits of Gibraltar,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43back to Morocco.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47I think that is where I need to go next.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01I now want to learn more about the origins
0:17:01 > 0:17:02of these Spanish gardens,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06so I'm travelling across the desert and back in time
0:17:06 > 0:17:10to a garden in Marrakech that is 1,000 years old.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15It gets blisteringly, unimaginably hot here,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19and on top of that, you've got winds that whip up sandstorms.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24I think they have less than two weeks' rain in the entire year,
0:17:24 > 0:17:29so you can hardly think of a less promising place to make a garden.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30But garden, they do.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42Marrakech was founded in 1062 by the Almoravid dynasty
0:17:42 > 0:17:44that went on to take over much of Spain
0:17:44 > 0:17:47from the original Umayyad Arabs, who were also from Morocco.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49And from its inception,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Marrakech was known as a city of gardens.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59Marrakech has now become a busy holiday destination,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03but I want to revisit a garden that's huge, ancient,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05and ignored by most tourists.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10I've brought you here to the Agdal, near the city centre.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13It's a royal palace, and it was restored and repaired a little bit
0:18:13 > 0:18:17in the 19th century, but almost everything you're going to see
0:18:17 > 0:18:21is pretty much as it was when it was built in the 12th century.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31The Agdal was made about 100 years after the creation of Marrakech
0:18:31 > 0:18:34by the Almohads, who conquered the whole of North Africa,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36from Egypt to the Atlantic.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41And the name Agdal comes from the Berber language,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43and means a walled meadow.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48And believe me, this meadow is enormous.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I last came here ten years ago...
0:18:51 > 0:18:53..and it doesn't seem to have changed much,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56but then it doesn't seem to have changed much in the last 900 years.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58And the first impression always for the visitor
0:18:58 > 0:19:01is that it really doesn't seem like a garden at all.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05But it is, and in many ways, it's very similar
0:19:05 > 0:19:08to the gardens that I've been visiting in Spain.
0:19:08 > 0:19:14The key elements of water and fruit and the layout
0:19:14 > 0:19:18share all those characteristics of much smaller gardens.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22It's just, here, the scale is increased hugely.
0:19:24 > 0:19:30The Agdal extends to around 400 hectares.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35But despite its size, it is completely enclosed by a wall,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39which is about 15km long.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42The Moroccan royal family still own and use the gardens,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46but when they're away, it is open to the public two days a week.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Mm.
0:19:51 > 0:19:57Of course, the orchards here contain the same familiar fruit trees
0:19:57 > 0:20:00that are central to all paradise gardens.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05You've got citrus, pomegranate, date,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07fig and olive.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11And the whole point about these trees
0:20:11 > 0:20:17is that the shade is cool and delicious under the hot sun,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21the fruit is nourishing and refreshing,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25and that applies however big the garden is.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29It is still paradise, which, after all, is limitless.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37As with all paradise gardens, water is the key element.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39For all the cultivation,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43the underlying spirit of the desert is never far away,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and the water here is piped all the way
0:20:46 > 0:20:49from the distant Atlas Mountains.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52This is an extraordinary feat of engineering
0:20:52 > 0:20:54that is over 900 years old,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57and this basin was Marrakesh's main supply of water
0:20:57 > 0:21:00right up to the 20th century.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02The reservoir is over 200 metres square
0:21:02 > 0:21:07and can hold up to 200,000 cubic metres of water,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10which is more than 80 Olympic swimming pools.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14I spoke to the local historian Jaafar Kansoussi,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17who explained the basin's significance.
0:21:45 > 0:21:51There are around 3,000km of these pipes in the Marrakech region.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06The irrigation system - was it an innovation at the time?
0:22:37 > 0:22:42And systems like this allowed Islamic engineers to create oases
0:22:42 > 0:22:46at convenient spots along their caravan routes.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51The garden was used by the sultan to assemble his army,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53who would camp under the trees.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57And the basin was also useful in this desert region
0:22:57 > 0:22:59to teach his troops to swim.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04In fact, in 1873, one king, Mohammed IV,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07drowned here when his boat capsized.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13But the only swimmers in the basin nowadays
0:23:13 > 0:23:16are some very hungry carp.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21The Agdal Gardens deliver their vision of paradise
0:23:21 > 0:23:23on a truly vast scale,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and I'm beginning to realise that the gardens of Islam
0:23:26 > 0:23:29have more diversity than I had previously thought.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33So, I'm heading back now to the chaotic city streets
0:23:33 > 0:23:37to find more variations of gardens that mirror paradise.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Despite much modernisation in Marrakech
0:23:44 > 0:23:46over the last decade or so,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49the heart of the old city, known as the Medina,
0:23:49 > 0:23:56is still a tangle of streets crammed with a crazy, untrammelled energy.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01All the gardens I've seen so far have been palatial and huge,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05but behind this door, off a busy street,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08is a garden which is very different.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17The exterior of Islamic houses
0:24:17 > 0:24:21are always deliberately modest and inward-looking,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24so all displays of finery and ostentation are hidden
0:24:24 > 0:24:25from the public gaze.
0:24:30 > 0:24:36This is a garden that has none of the sort of spacious,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39balanced elegance that we've seen so far.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43It's as though all the plants have been oversized,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and in order to make them fit, they've been crammed into the garden
0:24:46 > 0:24:49like too many flowers in a vase.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58The Palais Lamrani is now a hotel,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02but was formerly a large house, built about 100 years ago,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04by a family of Moroccan officials,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07on the site of a much older building.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11And like all Moroccan riads,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14everything is based around its central courtyard.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21And what you have is a real sense of a green haven
0:25:21 > 0:25:25in the middle of, at times, what are chaotic streets.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33There are all the essential elements here
0:25:33 > 0:25:38of the traditional charbagh, or four-quartered garden.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42There is water bubbling from a central fountain,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45lots of shade, and abundant green.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48The planting in this enclosed city space
0:25:48 > 0:25:52includes a luxurious jumble of citrus and bananas
0:25:52 > 0:25:56beneath enormous palms, soaring up to the Moroccan sky.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01But there is one very earthly element
0:26:01 > 0:26:06that tethers and unites all this voluptuous planting.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14The paths, the floors, the walls, the pillars
0:26:14 > 0:26:17are all clad in tiles,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19and they subvert this sense of disorder
0:26:19 > 0:26:24and of over-spilling foliage anarchy.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26They restore order.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30They are rhythmic and balanced and geometrical,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and those things are absolutely essential
0:26:33 > 0:26:36to paradise gardens.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39These brightly coloured tiles and mosaics,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42with their geometrical progression and symmetry,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46embody the Islamic idea of mathematical order
0:26:46 > 0:26:48underlying all creation.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54These tiles, which are ubiquitous in Morocco,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58are still produced in small workshops all over Marrakech,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and I'm taken to visit one just outside the Medina
0:27:02 > 0:27:04by Aziz, a local guide.
0:27:06 > 0:27:12- Every piece of these mosaics is chipped by hand?- Just by hands.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16So, because each piece is cut by hand,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18each piece is unique...
0:27:18 > 0:27:21- Yeah, exactly.- ..and alive with the skill of the maker.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Definitely, definitely.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33The process of making them has been unchanged since the 8th century.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40It always starts with a design drawn on paper.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48The individual, hand-carved pieces are then assembled facedown...
0:27:51 > 0:27:56..and a layer of plaster is applied to the underside.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01Once set, a finished tile is revealed.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09It must take millions of these, if you look around Marrakech.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Oh, definitely, definitely.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15For example, this is 400 per square metre.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17400 pieces.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26Because these are all handmade, no two will be exactly alike.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31How does that fit in with the Islamic idea
0:28:31 > 0:28:34that there must be some imperfection in man's work,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37because only God can create perfection?
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Yeah, exactly. So, there's always something, like,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44you know, deliberately left.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48This is a kind of example of an imperfection. You can see.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51So, the join is not like this one here.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53We say that's salt in the pot.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57It doesn't belong to us to make something perfect.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Allah is perfect.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11So far, the gardens that I've visited
0:29:11 > 0:29:16have all been historical, albeit still living and growing.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20But contemporary paradise gardens are still being created,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23and there is one, only completed a year or so ago,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26that I want to visit before I leave Morocco.
0:29:29 > 0:29:30This is extraordinary.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35Extraordinary sense of calm in the middle of this...
0:29:37 > 0:29:39..teeming place. But not just that,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42because all the things you would expect - the water,
0:29:42 > 0:29:48the sound of it bubbling in the basin, birds -
0:29:48 > 0:29:50they're familiar. They're charbagh. We've seen that.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53We've seen that in Spain and would expect it.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57But what I hadn't expected is the planting.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09The planting is breathtakingly simple...
0:30:11 > 0:30:15..and it's based upon the Persian idea
0:30:15 > 0:30:18of a fragrant meadow.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21It's called bustan.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23And so the grasses are everywhere.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26This is a stipa - Stipa tenuissima - which, in my garden,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30and, I suspect, yours, just flops in a delightfully soft way.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33But here, it's clipped and it's growing upright,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36because baking hot sun, you've got sand -
0:30:36 > 0:30:38it's much sturdier.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40And then dotted in amongst them,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44you've got this cape garlic - tulbaghia -
0:30:44 > 0:30:48and then the odd lavender - lavender palmatum -
0:30:48 > 0:30:50but just every now and then,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53as though they're just naturally growing in the meadow,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56yet within this courtyard.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59And that's both brilliant, I think -
0:30:59 > 0:31:01it's fantastically inspired planting -
0:31:01 > 0:31:06but completely embracing the idea of a paradise garden.
0:31:10 > 0:31:15Le Jardin Secret, the Secret Garden, was once an important palace,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19but by the mid-1930s, it had fallen into disrepair
0:31:19 > 0:31:22and was abandoned. But in 2008,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25the plan to restore it as a public space began,
0:31:25 > 0:31:27and eight years later, the garden,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30designed by the English garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34and built by local Moroccan craftsmen, was opened.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38The traditional sunken beds are edged by clipped hedges.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Now, the eye - the Western eye -
0:31:41 > 0:31:43immediately thinks of box or whatever.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48But this, the charbagh and the hedges, are fragrant.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50This is clipped rosemary.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53And it feels slightly oily to touch and...
0:31:53 > 0:31:56HE SNIFFS ..is beautifully richly scented.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59And you can see, when the sun hits that,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02the whole garden will be filled with its fragrance.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10The head gardener is Rashid.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15Now, Rashid, there was a huge amount of work creating the garden,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18but what is involved in maintaining it?
0:32:32 > 0:32:36I love the way that the steeper grasses have been cut.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38How often do you do this? Do you keep them cut,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40or is it a seasonal thing?
0:32:58 > 0:33:02What is your favourite aspect of the garden?
0:33:02 > 0:33:04What do you enjoy most about it?
0:33:24 > 0:33:28This contemporary take on the traditional Islamic garden
0:33:28 > 0:33:32is, in fact, only one half of the Jardin Secret.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36A doorway in one corner connects to another separate area,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39and one that brings a modern Christian twist
0:33:39 > 0:33:41to the nations of a paradise garden.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46Now, Lauro, whoo! This is very different.
0:33:46 > 0:33:47Very different indeed.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55The Exotic Garden was also designed by Tom Stuart-Smith.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00And the man who conceived and financed
0:34:00 > 0:34:03the whole ambitious project is the Italian
0:34:03 > 0:34:07and long-time Marrakech resident Lauro Milan.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Tell me about this space. What was it like when you came here?
0:34:10 > 0:34:16When I started, this land was with small houses, no garden.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21The surrounding walls existed, and no buildings, practically -
0:34:21 > 0:34:22historical buildings.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26The only historical part was these two basins with this channel.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28- This is historically... - So, this is original?
0:34:28 > 0:34:32This is original, yes, and I kept it.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35And then, you see it different, as you say,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39because you see that we just were in the Islamic garden -
0:34:39 > 0:34:41geometric, pure -
0:34:41 > 0:34:46and here, the choice was to have an Eden garden
0:34:46 > 0:34:49with plants of all over the world.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- So, a Garden of Eden? - Garden of Eden.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55Here, a Garden of Eden. There, an Islamic garden.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01It's a special garden because it's something that you don't expect.
0:35:01 > 0:35:07You walk outside in these small, narrow streets,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09full of people, noise,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12and you arrive here and it's really peaceful.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Colours - every season, different. Nice plants.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18There is a spiritual part,
0:35:18 > 0:35:22a level that is difficult to explain in English for me.
0:35:29 > 0:35:35I like the way that a garden done as the Garden of Eden
0:35:35 > 0:35:38counterbalances the more conventional paradise garden
0:35:38 > 0:35:41with its Islamic influences.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46So, this part is filled with plants from all over the world,
0:35:46 > 0:35:51the underlying idea being that it's all God's creations pulled together,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55whereas the Islamic garden is purer
0:35:55 > 0:35:58and truer to its source and its roots,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and yet the two are connected.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04And so this is a development, an enlargement
0:36:04 > 0:36:07on the conventions of a paradise garden.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15I think this is a really interesting juxtaposition
0:36:15 > 0:36:17between the very modern and the very traditional.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24This is a really inspiring garden,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27because as well as enlarging one's experience
0:36:27 > 0:36:30of the paradise garden in its familiar form,
0:36:30 > 0:36:34it does add layers of modernity,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and a sense of building something for a future
0:36:37 > 0:36:40rather than looking at its origins in the past.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45And it's also sown a seed that is nagging away at me,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49and it's that Persian, fragrant meadow.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01The gardens of Persia, now modern Iran,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03are essential to our story
0:37:03 > 0:37:06because gardens have been a fundamental part
0:37:06 > 0:37:10of the culture here for over 2,000 years.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13When the Arabs invaded Persia in the 7th century,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16they discovered a level of horticultural sophistication
0:37:16 > 0:37:20that far surpassed anything they had seen before,
0:37:20 > 0:37:22and it inspired and shaped the gardens
0:37:22 > 0:37:26right across the Islamic world ever after.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31Put simply, Iran is the home of the paradise garden.
0:37:31 > 0:37:36You really cannot understand Islamic gardens
0:37:36 > 0:37:38unless you know about Persian gardens.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41The Persian influence was huge.
0:37:45 > 0:37:50The golden age of Persian gardens came in the Safavid dynasty
0:37:50 > 0:37:55that lasted for over 200 years from its inception in 1501.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58The Safavid shahs oversaw an empire
0:37:58 > 0:38:00that controlled much of the Middle East,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03and restored the economic might of Persia.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08So, I'm starting my visit to Iran in the city of Isfahan,
0:38:08 > 0:38:12which was the capital of one of that dynasty's greatest rulers.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21When Shah Abbas moved the centre of his government to Isfahan,
0:38:21 > 0:38:26he set about creating one of the great cities of the world,
0:38:26 > 0:38:31and it is based around this huge square.
0:38:34 > 0:38:40Naqsh-e Jahan Square is essentially an enormous garden
0:38:40 > 0:38:42with an open space in the middle, which, in fact,
0:38:42 > 0:38:45was used for playing polo, and there were bazaars,
0:38:45 > 0:38:46trees growing at either end,
0:38:46 > 0:38:51and where now there are roadways, were large canals surrounding it.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57The square is one of the largest in the world,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00and Shah Abbas used it to unite
0:39:00 > 0:39:03the central components of Persian culture.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06So, you have the mercantile presence here in the bazaar
0:39:06 > 0:39:08still very much as it was -
0:39:08 > 0:39:10people making things, selling things -
0:39:10 > 0:39:13the same skills that have come down through the centuries.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17You have him looking down from his dais,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21the centre and representation of all-powerful government.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23And the third element, which, in its own way,
0:39:23 > 0:39:30was just as important, was that of the mosque and religion.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48The Mosque of Sheikh Lotfollah was the private place of worship
0:39:48 > 0:39:49for the shah's household,
0:39:49 > 0:39:53and is named after the father of one of his wives.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56This is amazing.
0:39:56 > 0:40:02I've never seen such tile work. It's exquisite.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Calligraphic inscriptions from the Koran,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14embellished by intricate floral motifs,
0:40:14 > 0:40:18glow and dance in the last shafts of light...
0:40:20 > 0:40:25..while outside, in the square, the autumnal evening falls fast.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41The next morning, I visit the first of these great Safavid gardens,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43which is in the centre of the city,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46not far from the Naqsh-e Jahan Square.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50It is called Chehel Sotoun.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57Built in the middle of the 17th century
0:40:57 > 0:41:01as part of this great expansion of Isfahan,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Chehel Sotoun was always, from its inception,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07intended as a pleasure garden -
0:41:07 > 0:41:11a place where parties and receptions were held.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13It was never a domestic palace.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15One must imagine it in its heyday,
0:41:15 > 0:41:20with water flowing and fruit trees surrounding it,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23and somewhere where you could sit in the cool,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26enjoying all the earthly delights,
0:41:26 > 0:41:31and yet in tune with the spiritual ideals of paradise.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35It would have really impressed visitors.
0:41:35 > 0:41:41It wasn't just about the retreats and pleasures of paradise.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46It was also to show the power of the people who made it.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52The building was always intended to dazzle its guests,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54and the walls and ceilings were covered
0:41:54 > 0:41:57with hugely expensive mirrors made in Venice.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01The name means 40 Columns,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03because the 20 columns in the front of the palace
0:42:03 > 0:42:05are reflected in the pool below.
0:42:05 > 0:42:11It was a place of magic and delight, and as recently as 1933,
0:42:11 > 0:42:13the travel writer Robert Byron described it as
0:42:13 > 0:42:18"spread with carpets, lit with pyramids of lamps."
0:42:18 > 0:42:23Professor Javad Rahmati is an expert on the gardens of Isfahan.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Let's put this garden into context.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Why was this garden built, and when?
0:43:04 > 0:43:07The palace has pools at its front and back,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11and at one time, both were used for swimming and water games,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14but are now reservoirs for irrigation.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18The planting - what sort of plants might one have expected to see?
0:43:58 > 0:44:04I like the idea of the gardens being opened to the public
0:44:04 > 0:44:05to celebrate a great victory.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09It's this idea of sharing the splendour of a garden,
0:44:09 > 0:44:13and it shows that the building, in all its magnificence -
0:44:13 > 0:44:17the water, the gardens - were one.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22They were all part of the same idea of paradise on Earth.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34Next door is a public garden that embodies the shape and symbols
0:44:34 > 0:44:38of paradise even in the construction of its central pavilion.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43It is known as the Hasht Behesht, which means Eight Paradises,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46and was built around 1670 by Shah Suleiman.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50It was in the centre of the much larger Garden of the Nightingale,
0:44:50 > 0:44:54and is now the sole survivor of the dozens of palaces
0:44:54 > 0:44:59that once lined Isfahan's central Chahar Bagh avenue.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03The Palace of Hasht Behesht is important structurally
0:45:03 > 0:45:07because it's built on two floors, each with four rooms,
0:45:07 > 0:45:08one in each corner,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11making a total of eight rooms, which is a holy number.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14And, of course, the division of four on each floor
0:45:14 > 0:45:19is related to the quadrants of the garden, the charbagh.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21And so, therefore, the structure of the garden,
0:45:21 > 0:45:25the structure of the building are umbilically connected
0:45:25 > 0:45:28both visually and symbolically.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30There are descriptions of the pavilions
0:45:30 > 0:45:32filled with glorious carpets
0:45:32 > 0:45:35and framing views of the garden that was set with pools,
0:45:35 > 0:45:39fountains and broadwalks lined with trees,
0:45:39 > 0:45:42leading down to a square or maidan.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Like Chehel Sotoun,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47it was intended primarily for courtly entertainments
0:45:47 > 0:45:50and reflected the fashion for conducting both pleasure
0:45:50 > 0:45:52and business outdoors.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54And as you look round the garden,
0:45:54 > 0:45:59that desire to live life in the open still seems strong.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03I talked to Hussein, a local resident, about this.
0:46:03 > 0:46:08How important are gardens in Iranian life?
0:46:08 > 0:46:12I have to tell you, garden is the most important part of Iranian life.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15- Really?- Wherever they see a green, river or water,
0:46:15 > 0:46:18they put their carpet down, they sit, they make tea,
0:46:18 > 0:46:19and they enjoy the time.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22In many places, you know, like in the gardens and parks,
0:46:22 > 0:46:26the people are sitting with their family, chatting and, you know...
0:46:26 > 0:46:30This shows how people are attached to nature
0:46:30 > 0:46:32and how people love to make the gardens.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35So, that's why, during the whole history of Iran,
0:46:35 > 0:46:38the garden becomes very important for their daily lives.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41What you're saying is that's always been the case,
0:46:41 > 0:46:42- and it goes right back...- Yeah.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45- ..right, right back...- Right back. - ..in history.- Yeah.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50There is one particular plant in this garden
0:46:50 > 0:46:56that took me right back to the very English landscape of my childhood.
0:46:56 > 0:47:01I haven't held a leaf of this type in my hands for over 40 years
0:47:01 > 0:47:04because it's an elm leaf,
0:47:04 > 0:47:08and practically all the elms in the British Isles
0:47:08 > 0:47:14were wiped out in 1975 and 1976 by Dutch elm disease.
0:47:14 > 0:47:20But elms were planted here from the very beginning of Hasht Behesht,
0:47:20 > 0:47:22and they remain.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25And what that gives you
0:47:25 > 0:47:28is a real feel for what the garden was like
0:47:28 > 0:47:30300, 400 years ago.
0:47:31 > 0:47:36And it is a complete flashback into my childhood
0:47:36 > 0:47:40to walk beneath an avenue of elms - a lovely thing.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46The golden age of Safavid gardens in 17th-century Isfahan,
0:47:46 > 0:47:48most of which are now lost,
0:47:48 > 0:47:53indicate just how important gardens were to the Persian civilisation.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56But the origins of the paradise garden
0:47:56 > 0:47:58lie still deeper in the past.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03So, now I'm travelling south through the desert landscape
0:48:03 > 0:48:06to an ancient archaeological site
0:48:06 > 0:48:08that holds the key to their creation.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14In the 6th century BC, Cyrus the Great,
0:48:14 > 0:48:18founder of an empire that stretched from Europe to the Indus Valley,
0:48:18 > 0:48:23built his capital here in Pasargadae on the site of his greatest victory.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28Cyrus reigned over a period of affluence and luxury,
0:48:28 > 0:48:30and there is hard evidence
0:48:30 > 0:48:34that gardens were an important expression of this.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39Very little of Cyrus's palace remains,
0:48:39 > 0:48:41but you have to imagine,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44on the plain below this hilltop fort,
0:48:44 > 0:48:48a glorious, magnificent palace.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52And in the 1960s, excavation showed that,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55at its heart, was a garden.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00This garden was defined by over a kilometre
0:49:00 > 0:49:02of stone-lined channels that were interspersed
0:49:02 > 0:49:06with rectangular basins, all fed by a central pond,
0:49:06 > 0:49:11and the garden itself was divided into four equal sections.
0:49:11 > 0:49:16This was the charbagh - the four-quartered Persian garden.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20At this pre-Islamic time,
0:49:20 > 0:49:23the four quarters represented the essential elements
0:49:23 > 0:49:26of the ancient Persian Zoroastrian religion,
0:49:26 > 0:49:30namely fire, water, earth and air.
0:49:31 > 0:49:37Now, this was 1,000 years before the Arab invasion,
0:49:37 > 0:49:44but it became the foundation for all future Islamic gardens.
0:49:44 > 0:49:48This is the oldest surviving paradise garden in the world,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51its submerged limestone rills
0:49:51 > 0:49:55marking out its delineations of delight.
0:49:55 > 0:50:01So far, only a small section of these channels have been restored.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05There's another kilometre to do.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08But it does seem staggering
0:50:08 > 0:50:10that when Britain was in the Bronze Ages,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13before the Roman Empire,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17this great garden was the centrepiece of the palace.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26Walking through the 2,500-year-old remains of Cyrus's garden
0:50:26 > 0:50:31made me realise to what extent he had created a blueprint
0:50:31 > 0:50:33for all future paradise gardens.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38And my next destination is perhaps the best-known
0:50:38 > 0:50:41Persian paradise garden of all.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45Kashan is an oasis town three hours' north of Isfahan,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48and it's the burial site of the great Shah Abbas.
0:50:49 > 0:50:54The town is renowned for its carpets, silks and gardens,
0:50:54 > 0:50:58and one garden in particular,
0:50:58 > 0:51:03and it is this that I've come to see - Bagh-e Fin.
0:51:04 > 0:51:10Bagh-e Fin draws the crowds like no other garden in Iran,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14because not only is it the oldest surviving garden,
0:51:14 > 0:51:19but also it is the idealised paradise garden.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24A garden has existed on this site since 1504,
0:51:24 > 0:51:30but in the late 16th century, Shah Abbas added the pavilion,
0:51:30 > 0:51:33and he used it as a temporary centre of government
0:51:33 > 0:51:35to stay when travelling through his domain,
0:51:35 > 0:51:41and it has remained a symbol of high Persian culture ever since.
0:51:41 > 0:51:46It has water flowing abundantly in beautiful channels
0:51:46 > 0:51:48lined with turquoise tiles
0:51:48 > 0:51:52and studded like diamonds with fountains.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56It has variable trees, giving you shade.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58There are gardens spreading out to either side
0:51:58 > 0:52:01that were filled with fruit and flowers.
0:52:07 > 0:52:14These huge cypresses that flank all the paths are 400 years old,
0:52:14 > 0:52:16which means that they were planted
0:52:16 > 0:52:18when the garden was in its 17th-century heyday.
0:52:21 > 0:52:26The apparent abundance of water is not an easy thing to supply
0:52:26 > 0:52:28in this arid desert region.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32It relies on a piece of brilliant Persian hydro-engineering.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36It's an ancient system called qanat,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39and it takes water from the mountains and brings it down
0:52:39 > 0:52:42in underground channels, which keeps it cool.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47Small shafts are sunk at intervals along the way,
0:52:47 > 0:52:51and gravity pushes water up to irrigate gardens and fields
0:52:51 > 0:52:55while the rest of the stream continues its journey underground.
0:52:55 > 0:53:00This ingenious qanat system has been successfully bringing water
0:53:00 > 0:53:04to the parched land of Iran for around 1,000 years.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08My visit to Bagh-e Fin has added essential context
0:53:08 > 0:53:11to what I've learned about Persian paradise gardens
0:53:11 > 0:53:12and their huge influence,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15not least on the language we use to describe them.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18The English word paradise
0:53:18 > 0:53:23actually comes from an old Persian word pairidaeza,
0:53:23 > 0:53:27which described an enclosed space or a garden.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30So, when we describe a paradise garden,
0:53:30 > 0:53:32we're really referring to two things.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36One is the ancient Persian gardens,
0:53:36 > 0:53:42and two, this idea of a garden having all the elements of paradise
0:53:42 > 0:53:48and being a reflection of what awaits us in the world beyond.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56Sadly, my all-too-brief trip to Iran is almost up.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59But before I leave, there is one last piece
0:53:59 > 0:54:03of the Persian jigsaw puzzle that I want to see.
0:54:03 > 0:54:08Shiraz is one of the great cities of culture,
0:54:08 > 0:54:14famous for its wine, its poetry, its nightingales, and its gardens.
0:54:15 > 0:54:20In the 13th century, Shiraz became a major centre for the arts.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24Iran's two most famous poets, Hafez and Saadi,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27are both buried here, and in modern Iran,
0:54:27 > 0:54:31their tombs have become the city's cultural mascots.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34And at one time, there were many wonderful gardens here,
0:54:34 > 0:54:37but the one that is best preserved and the most famous,
0:54:37 > 0:54:40one of the great gardens, is Bagh-e Eram.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48It takes its name from a fabled Arabian garden
0:54:48 > 0:54:52cited in the Koran as Eram, which means heaven.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56In spring, roses dominate the garden.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59These are one of the national flowers of Iran,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01and Persian roses are the forefathers
0:55:01 > 0:55:04of many of our own garden varieties.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09I asked a local guide, Amin Riasati, to tell me more about them.
0:55:09 > 0:55:15So, I know that roses, of course, are so important to the place.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18Is that still the case? Do people still grow lots of roses?
0:55:18 > 0:55:23Yes. People here love roses, and they still grow roses.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27Even here, in this garden, we have an area with roses.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29How does the garden, and gardens in general,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32locally, relate to culture? Because I always think of Shiraz
0:55:32 > 0:55:35- as somewhere where poetry is really important.- Yeah, yeah.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38- Do they link up?- Yes.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41When we look at Persian poets, especially Hafez,
0:55:41 > 0:55:46he talked a lot about the beautiful gardens of Shiraz,
0:55:46 > 0:55:51and he says himself that he spent a lot of time
0:55:51 > 0:55:53in one of the famous gardens of Shiraz.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Do people in the 21st century
0:55:56 > 0:56:00- in Shiraz still read those poems? - Definitely.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04So, the culture of poetry and the culture of enjoying gardens
0:56:04 > 0:56:05- is still alive?- Exactly.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09Is this garden based upon a traditional garden?
0:56:09 > 0:56:13Still, we can see some traditional elements in this garden,
0:56:13 > 0:56:14such as the cypress trees,
0:56:14 > 0:56:17such as the pavilion that we have here.
0:56:17 > 0:56:18But after the 1960s,
0:56:18 > 0:56:22the University of Shiraz took this garden.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25They changed it to a botanical garden.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27So, I can say that, now, it's a mix.
0:56:27 > 0:56:32Are there any plants that you feel are particular to Shiraz?
0:56:32 > 0:56:35Yes. The sour orange trees that we have in Shiraz,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37that we call naranj.
0:56:37 > 0:56:38The oranges are very sour
0:56:38 > 0:56:41to the extent that we usually don't eat them.
0:56:41 > 0:56:42We just squeeze them on food.
0:56:42 > 0:56:48But in April, they give a very, very lovely, beautiful blossom,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52that the whole city smells fabulous because of those blossoms.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55It's the reason they call Shiraz the paradise of Iran.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01As this is a botanical garden,
0:57:01 > 0:57:03there are a wide mix of plants from around the world
0:57:03 > 0:57:06that are all completely at home in this climate,
0:57:06 > 0:57:12like marigolds and chillies, and, unlike the traditional charbaghs,
0:57:12 > 0:57:16mean that the garden blooms freely throughout the summer.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20It's time to leave Bagh-e Eram, and, in fact, Iran itself,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23and it's been a frustratingly brief visit.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25But it's good to finish here,
0:57:25 > 0:57:29because Bagh-e Eram combines all the elements.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33You have the traditional charbagh with its four quarters.
0:57:33 > 0:57:38You have the waterways, paths, tall, shady trees, roses,
0:57:38 > 0:57:42which are so important to this city.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44Now, the influence of Persian gardens
0:57:44 > 0:57:48spreads right across the world of Islam,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51but there is one area that I have yet to see,
0:57:51 > 0:57:55and that is to the east, which is where I'm going next.
0:57:57 > 0:58:02So far, I have visited gardens in Spain, Morocco and Iran,
0:58:02 > 0:58:05but next time, my journey will take me to India, Turkey,
0:58:05 > 0:58:08and back to the British Isles.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11I'll visit one of the greatest paradise gardens of them all -
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Taj Mahal,
0:58:14 > 0:58:17and in Istanbul, I will be amazed
0:58:17 > 0:58:21at the obsession for tulips and brilliant colour,
0:58:21 > 0:58:26and return to discover the influence of paradise gardens back home.
0:58:26 > 0:58:27Yeah. Gosh!