The language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred space

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dc.contributor.advisorChidester, Daviden_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorShaikh, Sa'diyyaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBadenhorst, Ursulaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-06-18T13:06:53Z
dc.date.available2015-06-18T13:06:53Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe aim of this thesis is to propose a multi-layered and interdisciplinary understanding of space by focussing on the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra. By presenting a theoretical conversation on the Sufi notion of the barzakh (an intermediary and relational space) between the premodern Muslim mystic Ibn al-Arabi and contemporary western theorists concerned with space, movement and aesthetics, such as Louis Marin, Henri Lefebvre, Tim Ingold and Martin Seel, this thesis offers an original contribution to the spatial analysis of religion as embodied in the architecture, gardens, and imagination of the Alhambra. Emphasising the barzakh’s role in the interplay between presence and meaning this thesis also draws attention to the dialogue between self as spectator and the garden as spectacle. Through this dialogue, Ibn al-Arabi‘s concept of the barzakh , which he developed in terms of ontology, epistemology and hermeneutics, is investigated and analysed in order to identify a theory of knowledge that relies on the synthesis between experience and imagination. The union of meaning and presence afforded by the intermediary quality of the barzakh is further demonstrated in the physical, imaginative and virtual worlds of the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra. Viewing the Alhambra palaces and gardens in terms of Ibn al-Arabi‘s barzakh, they produce their own language, a showing ‖ of their outer and inner movements, which prompts and provokes the spectator to participate in a poetical and creative encounter. Seen as a barzakh, these gardens put space into movement.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBadenhorst, U. (2014). <i>The language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred space</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13083en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBadenhorst, Ursula. <i>"The language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred space."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13083en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBadenhorst, U. 2014. The language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred space. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Badenhorst, Ursula AB - The aim of this thesis is to propose a multi-layered and interdisciplinary understanding of space by focussing on the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra. By presenting a theoretical conversation on the Sufi notion of the barzakh (an intermediary and relational space) between the premodern Muslim mystic Ibn al-Arabi and contemporary western theorists concerned with space, movement and aesthetics, such as Louis Marin, Henri Lefebvre, Tim Ingold and Martin Seel, this thesis offers an original contribution to the spatial analysis of religion as embodied in the architecture, gardens, and imagination of the Alhambra. Emphasising the barzakh’s role in the interplay between presence and meaning this thesis also draws attention to the dialogue between self as spectator and the garden as spectacle. Through this dialogue, Ibn al-Arabi‘s concept of the barzakh , which he developed in terms of ontology, epistemology and hermeneutics, is investigated and analysed in order to identify a theory of knowledge that relies on the synthesis between experience and imagination. The union of meaning and presence afforded by the intermediary quality of the barzakh is further demonstrated in the physical, imaginative and virtual worlds of the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra. Viewing the Alhambra palaces and gardens in terms of Ibn al-Arabi‘s barzakh, they produce their own language, a showing &#8214; of their outer and inner movements, which prompts and provokes the spectator to participate in a poetical and creative encounter. Seen as a barzakh, these gardens put space into movement. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - The language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred space TI - The language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred space UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13083 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/13083
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBadenhorst U. The language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred space. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13083en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Religious Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherReligious Studiesen_ZA
dc.titleThe language of gardens: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s barzakh, the courtyard gardens of the Alhambra, and the production of sacred spaceen_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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