Geography

The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the 'black land' and the 'red land'. The 'black land' was the fertile land on the banks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians used this land for growing their crops. This was the only land in ancient Egypt that could be farmed because a layer of rich, black silt was deposited there every year after the Nile flooded.
The 'red land' was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighbouring countries and invading armies. They also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious metals and semiprecious stones.

The gardens & ponds of ancient Egypt

One really hears very little about gardens, and yet, they were an essential element to the ancient Egyptian people Those who could afford to do so laid out gardens in front of both their houses and tomb chapels. The gods were even thought to enjoy gardens and so most every temple was surrounded by lush greenery. Gardens seem to have been particularly important during the New Kingdom. It should also be noted that certain types of gardens had religious symbolism. Popular trees included the sycamore fig, pomegranate, nut trees and jujube. However, willows, acacia and tamarisk were also found. In all, there were about eighteen varieties of trees grown by the Egyptians. Flowers were also abundant, and included daisies, cornflowers, mandrakes, roses, irises, myrtle, jasmine, mignonettes, convolvulus, celosia, narcissus, ivy, lychnis, sweet marjoram, henna, bay laurel, small yellow chrysanthemums and poppies. Of course, there were also papyrus, lotus and grapes.

A garden in the tomb of Kenamun

Gardens were not simply for pleasant environs to the Ancient Egyptians. There were many symbolisms associated with trees, including to specific gods such as Osiris, Nut, Isis and Hathor. They also had creation overtones, as well as funerary. The Papyrus and Lotus plants were symbolic of the two regions of Lower and Upper Egypt (respectively). Of course, gardens also provided food including vegetables and wine, and in the final analysis, we might know much less about ancient Egypt if it were not for the papyrus paper used through most of Egyptian history.

There is much more evidence concerning gardens that surround tomb chapels and mortuary temples. The Egyptologist, Breasted, thought that these trees could have been planted on the terraces of Deir elBahari but it is possible that they could have also been planted near the Temple of Amun at Karnak. We also know that there existed such a garden about the later mortuary temple of Ramesses II at Abydos

Plan of Kenamuns garden.

Fragrant trees were perhaps an essential element of the pharaoh's funerary garden. Ramesses III describes the lake and garden in his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu The temples of the various gods were provided with gardens in decorative layouts, as a source for flowers, vegetables and even wine and olive oil, thus providing necessary ingredients for various rituals. In fact, texts are very definite as to this specific purpose. Wine and shedeh-liquor were presented together with vegetables and flowers as a daily offering to the gods, while olive oil was used "to light the flame" in the sanctuary.

The royal and private tomb chapels usually had some kind of landing portal near the water's edge. Funerary gardens of small size are known to have been grown in the courtyard of certain Theban private tombs, probably imitating the larger gardens of pharaohs Mentuhotep, Tuthmosis III and Queen Hatshepsut. Houses, palaces, temples and chapels, whether funerary or private, when in the paintings of the tombs nearly always have a garden connected to the building. We even very often find a whole layout of an elaborate nature detailed, and thus an adequate picture of the various types of gardens during the New Kingdom can be reconstructed from this pictorial evidence. Until the end of the Middle Kingdom, gardens had to be watered from jars carried at Irrigation with shaduf devise,from tomb the end of a pole slung on the shoulders of water in Thebes. carriers.

House Gardens
Even in ancient Egypt, the value of land was almost prohibitive in the cities and we have today no real evidence of any gardens in these locations. Occasionally, a few trees were planted along the sides of the house (Tjoy), usually date palms alternating with another species, which can also be grown in brickwork containers

In the harem of Pharaoh Ay, a large court surrounding the structure is planted with a row of trees in mud copings, and on the farthermost side a kiosk on columns supports a vine (tomb of Neferhotep).

In the country where the land was much less expensive, the houses and palaces were set in a large garden surrounded by a wall. Numerous depictions in tombs show what might be considered to be the standard type of garden.
layout is symmetrical about an axis perpendicular to the river and running from the entrance along an alleyway flanked with two pergolas and leading to the small temple with three shrines. Each half of this garden, on either side of the alley, is divided transversely into three areas. The front section, which has a rectangular pond parallel to the river has water plants, and there is also date palms and sycamores. A second section in the middle area is enclosed within a wall and planted with light green trees that are perhaps a rare species. Finally, a rear section is the largest area and again has a rectangular pond bordered on one side by date palms and on the other by sycamores. Near this rear section is a small open kiosk of the type we find at Amarna. On either long side of the whole garden an enclosed path is planted with trees of alternating species, while tall trees form an effective screen at the back of the estate.

Temple of Amenhotep II and the attached house of its attendant Sennufer at Thebes as depicted in his Sennufer's tomb (Garden plan)

Trees and bushes from the tomb of Sennedjem at Deir el-Medina

A formal layout is also followed in the large palace gardens. Usually the approach is symmetrical, usually with a pond on either side of the axis, bordered with rows of trees. At Amarna, where the ground is not arable, trees were planted in pits filled with humus and bordered with a round coping. At the rear of the various groups of buildings a large area is laid out as an independent garden around a square pound with sloping sides. In one of the pond's corners, a stairway descends to its bottom. A deeper basin opening in the bottom is probably filled with infiltration water. Interestingly, the distribution of the trees seems particularly informal and may have been another aspect of the Amarna trend toward freedom and naturalism in art.

Sacred Gardens
Gardens on processional approaches to pylons, or in front of the temple quay along the river, are also represented in tombs. In the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el- Bahari, a garden with four ponds, papyrus, flowers and vegetables is represented schematically. There were exotic trees that were brought from the new countries subdued during the New Kingdom and planted in the gardens of Amun. Such rare species are represented at Deir el-Bahari, Medinet Habu and Karnak, but the representations of these "botanical gardens", though fascinating due to their innumerable exotic species, do not offer any clue regarding their layout. Private chapels were erected by rich people in their gardens at Amarna or on the bank of a river or canal, and formed an important element in the layout, being situated at the crossing of two axes or at the end of the main axis. Often the chapel stands at the rear of the enclosed garden on a higher terrace, with a rectangular pond flanked by two rows of sycamore trees, or what seems to be two rows of tall jars surrounded by climbing growth. The formal layout of the Persian garden, where an artificial pond mirrored the glittering splendor of a rich facade beyond it, had already been carried out to perfection in Egypt, at least as early as the New Kingdom.

Funerary Gardens
Most of the depictions of funerary gardens are schematic in nature. They are usually reduced to a T-shaped basin shown in plan on a background of a few date palms. Here, the origin of the peculiar plan of the basin may be investigated. It is certain that the dead end of a canal, when shaped as a transverse rectangular basin, would facilitate the mooring and circulation of boats. On the other hand, the offering table for the presentation of funerary offerings often assumed the shape of a T-slab, in the middle of which is a deep basin. Whether there is any real relation between the funerary T-shaped pond and the offering table is uncertain. What is certain, however, is that even in the beginning of the New Kingdom, the Tshaped plan had a symbolic implication. There were two T-shaped ponds flanking the central alley at the bottom of the lower stairway in Hatshepsut's temple.

Scene from the Book of the Dead p[apyrus of Nakht showing him and his wife approaching Osiris and Ma'at in their garden

At Memphis, there are at least two paintings depicting a funerary ceremony where the mummy is conveyed by boat to a rectangular island in the middle of a rectangular pond. In one of these, the pond is bordered on three of its outer sides by a double row of funerary structures in the shape of light awnings containing a stand which alternate with date palms and trees planted in brickwork containers. A quay protrudes into the water from one small side of the pond, and in one painting it is accessible by a stairway. In this latter representation there is a quay that is set at both smaller ends of the island. This could be a symbolic representation of the Osireion at Abydos.

Mumphite tomb

The location of the funerary garden has been the subject of controversy but it can be safely assumed that some kind of small garden was occasionally laid out in front of the tomb itself and that more often a larger garden was laid out below on the riverbank, and probably also near the portal of the tomb complex

The Remains of Gardens

In what is known as the North Palace, possibly a reserve for animal species and botanical garden, the main element in the plan is an extensive water court surrounded by trees. The rear central group of buildings is the formal apartment, with a private suite bordered on the north by a sunken garden surrounded on three sides by a columned portico and contiguous cells. Here again, the location of the garden is to the north of the living quarters, and there is a corner staircase leading up to the roof of the portico, where a pergola must have afforded an enjoyable view of the precincts. The animals were kept in separate courts and rooms.

A depection of garden & pond that contains fish

However, in no other temple did a garden gain such importance as in the Maru-Aten at Amarna. The extensive grounds of that peculiar complex, long mistaken for a "pleasure resort", are really a concrete representation of the potentiality of the sun disk Aten as a Creator. The layout of the eastern group of the buildings is on an exact north-south axis while the east-west axis of the large lake crosses it inside the The garden at the Marriot Cairo hall of the Maru, or viewing place of the sun disk. A garden with a processional alley fronts the group on the south. Here also there is a symbolic island carrying a hypaethral kiosk, accessible from the Maru by a bridge. A second bridge at the north end leads to an alley flanked with flower beds to a water court featuring a range of eleven T-shaped water basins on an interlocking plan. Some scholars believe that the kiosk on the island was designed for the yearly festival of the viewing of the Aten, while the eleven basins of the water court would symbolically be connected with the eleven other monthly festivals.

BABYLON LANDSCAPE
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the most controversial of all the Seven Wonders because some archaeologists doubt they ever existed. Why were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built?
The most popular account is that King Nebuchadnezzar II (of biblical fame) constructed this wonder in the 6th century BC to please his wife. Babylon's flat desert-like landscape made her homesick for the verdant mountains of Media where she was reared. So, the king built an artificial, terraced hill lushly cultivated with trees and flowering plants. Others say that a powerful Assyrian queen built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for her own pleasure. Others believe it was conceived much earlier by an Assyrian king. Yet other experts go so far as to think that the Hanging Gardens existed in Nineveh , not Babylon.

CONSTRUCTION OF HANGING GARDEN

Ancient accounts of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are scarce . What remains of what is widely believed to be the Hanging Gardens site is mainly red brick rubble.

Substantial water was needed for irrigation because water evaporates quickly I n Babylon's arid environment. Devising a workable watering system was more of a challenge than erecting the gardens. The water had to be diverted from the Euphrates River and raised to the level of the holding tank above the Hanging Gardens.

It is believed that they were built out of reeds, bitumen, lead, and stone, so that the water would not seep through The Hanging Gardens could collapse if water were absorbed by the brick columns and foundation supporting the gardens.

The estimated lifespan of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was only a century Or so, likely due to neglect ,damage caused by water and clay brick deterioration.
Babylon was one of the world's most impressive cities with its magnificent palace, temples, walls and gates.

PLANTS USED
The gardens had exotic flourishing plants. These plants were cultivated above ground level. Nebuchadnezzar imported the plants from foreign lands. The plants may have included cedar, cypress, myrtle, juniper, almond, date palm, ebony, olive, oak, terebinth, nuts, ash, firs, nightshade, willow, pomegranate, plum, pear, quince, fig, and grapevine. The plants were suspended over the heads of observers on terraces, they draped over the terraced walls. Arches were underneath these terraces. The brilliantly colored trees and flowers that dangled from the walls created a lush and magical environment.

 The gardens formed a quadrilateral shape. There were stairways that led to the uppermost terraced roofs. The plants hung over terraces that were supported by stone columns. vaults, which were. The fountains below created a humidity that helped keep the area cool. The shade from the trees also helped keep the gardens cool. The gardens were supported by an intricate structure of stone pillars, brick Walls