Mirrors of Paradise - ACE246.3

Alhambra. Oleg Grabar describes the history of the Alhambra and its building. Film shows different parts of the building, cleaners at work, details of decorations, etc. Tourists. Poem heard over describing a fountain. The remains of the surviving ritual bath; James Dickie explains how it operated. Geometric tile and other patterns. Commentary explains their significance. Dickie describing the stone "stalactites" which reflect light and refer to principles of Islamic philosophy. Decorative features; commentary points out that geometry influenced calligraphy, also regarded as an art. Gardens. Poem heard over. Thomas Glick describes a noria, a Persian water-wheel at Albarán, Murcia. Poem over. Drawing of such a wheel. Wheel developed from Roman idea; used for irrigation of crops.