Posted on: Sunday, September 16, 2007
Whimsy, splendor meet at Shangri La
By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Stone camels guard the front of Doris Duke's Shangri La estate. The camels, thought to be 18th century China, were bought in Honolulu.
CHRIS OLIVER | The Honolulu Advertiser
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Away from Shangri La's main house is The Playhouse, a two-bedroom guesthouse with a view of Diamond Head modeled after the Chihil Sutun, a 17th-century royal Iranian pavilion.
David Franzen, Doris Duke Foundation
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At the entry to Shangri La, Doris Duke's Diamond Head estate, two stone camels lie in wait for visitors. In a state where Asian statuary is commonplace, the resting camels are a surprise; they're of a non-threatening size, and they're smiling, a charm camels aren't especially known for. Perfectly at home, they bring to mind the story that Doris Duke kept real camels on the lawn at Rough Point, her Rhode Island mansion overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
In April 1936 Duke purchased the beautiful, 4.9-acre piece of oceanfront property at Ka'alawai with sweeping views of Diamond Head and the Pacific Ocean. Translated as "the water basalt," Ka'alawai refers to the porous stone along this stretch of coastline. Duke named her property Shangri La, the imaginary land depicted in James Hilton's 1933 novel "Lost Horizon."
While the house is famous for its Islamic art and architecture inspired by Duke's travels to India and the Middle East, it's also the grounds that fulfil the Quran verse inscribed on Shangri La's entry door: "Enter therein in peace, secure ..."
In the garden:
Entry door: The inscription on the door is an excerpt from the Quran which refers to the entering into paradise, with its gardens and fountains and resonates with Duke's own search for solace. The wood and copper alloy door is one of a pair Duke purchased in Egypt, in 1938, and thought to be made around 1900.
Stone camels: Duke acquired the pair of stone camels not long after Shangri La was built and located them at the entry to the main house, where they remain. The camels were bought at Gump's department store in Honolulu and are thought to be 18th century from China.
The Playhouse: Away from the main house, the design of the Playhouse was adapted from the Chihil Sutun, a 17th-century royal pavilion built in Isfahan, Iran. Duke's two-bedroom pavilion overlooking the ocean was used as guest quarters.
Mughal Garden: Duke visited many Mughal gardens in India, Kashmir and Pakistan. She loved their formal layout, particularly Shalimar Garden in Lahore, Pakistan, and decided to build her own. The Mughal Garden is a long, narrow brick pathway with a water channel running down the center with planters, and chinikhanas (niches for oil lamps) at one end. At night, with electric candles lit in the chinikhanas, a magical effect came about when water cascaded in front of the lights and into the channel below. The garden follows the four-part garden scheme used for historic Mughal gardens, but on a much smaller and narrower scale.
If you go: Small group tours of Shangri La are offered only from the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Tours last approximately 2 1/2 hours, including transport from the Academy. Tours are at 8:30 and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays with reservations. Shangri La will be closed for conservation this month; tours resume Oct. 3. $25 adults, ages 12-17; $20 for Hawai'i residents with ID. 866-385-3849, www.shangrilahawaii.org.
Reach Chris Oliver at coliver@honoluluadvertiser.com.
