Persia's idyllic palaces and gardens provide an escape from the harsh

realities of desert life-creating a corner of paradise on earth.

The very word "paradise" derives from the ancient Iranian term for

the Shah's royal hunting grounds. From ancient Achaemenid sites to the

dazzling mirrored shrines of Shiraz, and from the lush geometric gardens of

Kashan to the ornate domes of Isfahan, Palaces and Gardens of Persia offers a

privileged glimpse of these oases that are hidden away behind the high brick

walls of palace pavilions and mosques.

Persia is a land of gardens with intricate

fountains, majestic pools, shaded paths,

and babbling channels of water. The

region's rich history is manifest in the

magnificent palaces adorned with marble and

ceramics and in the intimate hammams where

relaxation and calm preside today, as they have

for centuries.

Palaces and Gardens of Persia reveals the

fundamental roles that water, brick, and

ornamentation play in Iran's unique

architectural heritage. Water is the key

element, offering an escape from the arid and

unforgiving climate. Brick has been used as a

principle building material since antiquity ; in

Persia it is used to its most symbolic effect in

the high walls that forge a barrier between

wildness and a protected sanctuary created for

man. Ornament is then the element that

transforms the buildings, constructed of

simple materials, into "Thousand and One

Night" fantasies, from resplendent mirrored

halls to geometric mosaicked paneling, and

from intricate plasterwork depicting exotic

birds and flowers to delicate painted murals

adorning palace walls.

Yves Porter's lyrical and informed text

combines with Arthur Thévenard's luminous

photography to give readers a unique

opportunity to discover the hidden treasures

of this lost paradise.