Archnet > Publication > Landscape in the Middle East: An Inquiry

Jala Makhzoumi - <div>A critical exploration of the meaning of 'landscape' in the absence of an Arabic word. <span style="font-size: 14px;">"This inquiry was instigated by recent efforts to establish landscape architecture in the Middle East. The absence of a word corresponding to ‘landscape’ in Arabic is contributing to an ambiguity as to the meaning of the English word in the design professions as well as in the general use of the word. The development of ‘landscape’ as a cultural concept that originated in Europe is reviewed and the ways in which the </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">complexity of accumulated meanings has influenced the development of landscape architecture in the West are examined. It is against this historical background that the absence of an Arabic word is explained, the undesirability of direct translation discussed and the need to search for a contextualized concept of ‘landscape’ argued."</span></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Source:</span> Jala Makhzoumi</div>

Type

paper/essay

Year

2002

A critical exploration of the meaning of 'landscape' in the absence of an Arabic word. "This inquiry was instigated by recent efforts to establish landscape architecture in the Middle East. The absence of a word corresponding to ‘landscape’ in Arabic is contributing to an ambiguity as to the meaning of the English word in the design professions as well as in the general use of the word. The development of ‘landscape’ as a cultural concept that originated in Europe is reviewed and the ways in which the complexity of accumulated meanings has influenced the development of landscape architecture in the West are examined. It is against this historical background that the absence of an Arabic word is explained, the undesirability of direct translation discussed and the need to search for a contextualized concept of ‘landscape’ argued."

Source: Jala Makhzoumi

Makhzoumi, Jala. “Landscape in the Middle East: An Inquiry” in Landscape Research (2002), Vol. 27, No.3. Taylor and Francis: Oxford, pp. 213-228.

Iraq

author

Jala Makhzoumi

Lebanon

English

environment