There is no single type of “Islamic Garden” any more than there is one style of Chinese, Italian, or English garden. Islamic gardens have assumed many different types and styles of all sizes and shapes through time and across the globe. These include tomb gardens,
pleasure gardens, residential and palace gardens, courtyards, gardens for private reception, or public display, medicinal or botanical gardens, mosque and oasis gardens, hillside gardens, and hunting parks. Certain features such as water and geometry, symmetry and architectural elements, especially hard surfaces are dominant, but one must be wary of sweeping generalities and understand the full plurality and diversity of Islamic gardens. At the same time, there is a sense that something is special and characteristic about many historic Islamic gardens. The ancient image of four rivers and four quarters of the classic chahar bagh runs like a heartbeat through the collection of gardens designed over the centuries around the world.