HAMILTON GARDENS

Going through the entrance into the temple garden it is like stepping through in time.

We’re all being encouraged to travel if we can, so if you have itchy feet, put Hamilton on your list and visit the new Ancient Egyptian Garden at Hamilton Gardens, opened just last month. It’s believed to be the first recreation of this sacred garden type.

Archaeologists know a lot about

what these ancient gardens looked like. Temple compounds all shared a similar, highly symbolic design enclosed by high walls. The gardens featured a central, rectangular pool, with pergolas covered in grapevines, and rows of trees often linked with irrigation channels.

For ancient Egyptians, life on earth was a preparation for the dangerous journey into the afterlife.

Temples and their gardens were a meeting place between heaven, earth

and the underworld. It was here that priests performed the rituals that kept the universe in balance and the forces of chaos at bay.

The Hamilton Gardens Temple Garden is based on a typical temple from the Middle Kingdom period (2040 BCE to 1782 BCE). The experience starts outside the temple at the Palm Court, a court yard that links the Egyptian garden with other themed gardens.

Going through the entrance into the temple garden it is like stepping through in time, and every effort has been made to make the garden as realistic as possible. Hieroglyphics adorn the entrance way and vibrant colours have been used on the walls and the temple columns. The 750-square metre garden is only a fraction of the size the real thing would have been.