270 



GARDEN CRAFT IN EUROPE 



The entrance to the Alhambra is through the Patio de los Arrayanes 

 (illus., p. 268) with its oblong pool used for ablutions hy the Royal Family and 

 all who were present at the zaldh held in the private mosque of the palace, 

 which is close by. The pool is full of goldfish, and along the sides are broad 

 hedges of myrtle, carefully trimmed and kept low. At each end is a great 



white marble tazza, where the water 

 oozes rather than flows through a 

 bronze pipe and trickles into the 

 reservoir. Near by is the famous 

 Court of the Lions, built by the 

 architect Abu Concind in 1377. In 

 the centre is an alabaster fountain 

 with its great basin resting on the 

 backs of twelve rudely carved heral- 

 dic lions, each with a water pipe 

 stuck into its mouth, hardly adding 

 to its dignity. 



Just beyond the Court of the 

 Lions, a balcony overlooks the gar- 

 den of Lindaraja (illus., p. 269), a 

 typical Moorish patio. "Here," says 

 Washington Irving, " the twittering 

 martlet, the only bird sacred and un- 

 molested in Spain, because they are 

 believed to have plucked off the 

 thorns from the Crown of our 

 Saviour as He hung on the Cross, 

 builds his nest, breaking the silence 

 of these sunny courts once made for 

 oriental enjoyment, and even now just 

 the place to read the Arabian Nights, with a charming oriental fountain, 

 violets, Japanese medlar and orange trees, buried in the heart of the building 

 with its roses and citrons and shrubbery of emerald green. How beauteous 

 is this garden, says the Arab inscription, where the flowers of the Earth 

 vie with the stars of Heaven ! " 



An abundant supply of water was brought by an aqueduct and 



