Smithsonian Fountain - Washington, DC
Posted by: Metro2
N 38° 53.292 W 077° 01.526
18S E 324330 N 4306319
Located near the Enid A. Haupt Garden by the Smithsonian Castle.
Waymark Code: WMRXY5
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 08/19/2016
Views: 0
A sign at the site informs us that this fountain is modeled after the fountain in the Court of the Lions in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
The sign reads:
"The Fountain Garden
The Fountain Garden is modeled
after the Court of the 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" - patterns
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."
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