Water in Persian garden; A survey on architecture of water and water supply structure In Chehel-sotoun garden of Isfahan

Ancient civilizations and their architecture flourished near water sources. During the Islamic period, architects were aware of physical laws of water behavior and relationship between human race and water, so they brought water next to their buildings. In Iran one of the best ways to combine architecture with water sources was designing a kind of garden, called ‘Persian garden’. In this model, Iranian architects show the beauty of water, without wasting it. In Persian garden water is exposed in different forms, like: stagnant waters in ponds with different depths, or current waters in waterfalls, fountains, streams etc. Chehel-sotoun garden is one of the best examples of Persian garden. This garden was built in Safavid period in Isfahan. Safavid era is the most important period for building gardens in the history of Iran. In this garden water is very important; insofar as it plays a fundamental role in formation of the whole garden. Water flows in tow streams with different widths that twirl around the building. Fountains at regular intervals have built in these streams. A structure called “Shotor-gelou” has used to transfer water from ponds to streams, vice versa. This structure pumps water to share it in the garden. There are four ponds in north, south, east and west sides of the building and two in the porch. Water of garden is gathered from three different sources. These sources are runnels in city structure, called “Madi”. The madi of Fadan was used to watering the garden and the madi of Jooyshah had aesthetic functions for garden besides supplying required water for the habitants. This study is a historical research, and is conducted with an analytic approach, based on a documentary and library study.