Tourism of Culture
Scientific Quarterly Journal

Reidentification of the Constituent Elements of an Alley Landscape in the Historical Fabric of Yazd

https://doi.org/10.22034/toc.2025.497918.1179
Volume 5, Issue 19
Winter 2025
Pages 16-25
Tourism of Culture

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Amin Maghsoudi 1
Saba Mirzahossein 2
Soheila Jabbari 3
Fatemeh Rezaei 3

1 Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran.

2 Ph.D. Candidate in Landscape Architecture, Department of Fine Arts, Aras Campus, University of Tehran, Iran.

3 M.A. in Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran.

Abstract
In the historical fabric of Iranian-Islamic cities, an alley is not merely a passageway for movement and transition between neighborhoods; rather, it functions as a spatial entity that, in addition to facilitating movement, provides a place for pause, interaction, conversation, and human encounters. Due to the presence of people and their perceptual abilities, an alley can hold various meanings. Considering the alley as a landscape, this study aims to reidentify the constituent elements that form the overall landscape of alleys in the historical fabric of Yazd by expanding the related literature on the concept of alleys. The main question of this research is: Beyond their physical and structural manifestation, what semantic and subjective dimensions do the elements shaping the overall landscape of alleys in the historical fabric of Yazd encompass? This study consists of two main parts. In the first part, an attempt was made to identify the landscape elements of alleys through field observations using techniques such as photography, sketching, and filming. In the second part, these elements were individually examined to understand their objective and subjective dimensions through a literature review and the analysis of written sources such as books and articles. The findings of this study indicate that the landscape of a typical alley in the historical fabric of Yazd consists of elements such as passageways, “darbands” (narrow alley gates), “sabats” (vaulted structures over alleys), walls, “pirneshins” (built-in seating along walls), and trees and vegetation. These elements, beyond their physical presence, also possess specific functional roles and symbolic meanings within the historical urban fabric of Yazd.

Keywords

Landscape
Urban Landscape
Alley
Landscape Elements
Historical Fabric of Yazd
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 07 January 2025
  • Revise Date 12 February 2025
  • Accept Date 12 February 2025

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