Abstract
This chapter shows how integration of the elemental structure discussed in Chap. 3 and comprises a unified whole: a city. An exhaustive field research has been conducted during several years, interviewing local architects, elders of neighborhoods, and heads of old families. One distinctive aspect in field studies was a comparison between the information of an old historical document: Tarikh-i Yazd, (History of Yazd), from fifteenth century with the existing old fabric, places and spaces of the historic city of Yazd. The same method and findings were applied in other cities such as Nain, Zaware, and Kashan. As we shall see, it can be concluded that traditional towns and cities in the hot arid environment of Iran have a common spatial characteristics based on their interconnected parts: neighborhoods and neighborhood centers, and city center, through the main passageways as connected elements.
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Notes
- 1.
One of the first reliable local historical texts about the Yazd region is Tarikh -i Yazd, (History of Yazd), written in fifteenth century. The information of the book is mainly concerned with Islamic era, from eleventh century (Atabekan period) till the author’s time, fifteenth century. The book also covers a summary of information about pre-Islamic and early Islamic period. Historical studies in the present book are specially based on a comparative study between contents of Tarikh-i Yazd and remains of structural elements in the years 1971–1972. At this time, many spaces and places mentioned in Tarikh-i Yazd were still survived with their old names. See Ja’far b. Muhammad b. Hasan Ja’fari, Tarikh-i Yazd, (composed in 845/1441) edited by Iraj Afshar Tehran (1965). Also for historical pattern of Yazd region, see Abu Eshaq Ebrahim Estakhri, Masalek va Mamalek, edited by Iraj Afshar, Tehran (1969).
- 2.
The most important changes in the physical structure of the city from fourteenth century till the establishment of the Pahlavi Dynasty in the first decades of the twentieth century have been studied in the first part of this book.
- 3.
Considering this historical period, see explanatory notes by Iraj Afshar in: Tarikh-i Yazd (History of Yazd), pp. 212–214.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
See Fig. 4.5, this quarter still survive on the far northeast of the old city and absorbed into the city.
- 7.
- 8.
Remains of the city wall, separated towers, and a gate still survive, and some have been restored. See Fig. 4.2.
- 9.
The process of change of this complex has been studied, see Fig. 3.17.
- 10.
- 11.
- 12.
Information concerning sociocultural aspects is based on the knowledge of old traditional masters in the 1970s and most of them have departed. Socioeconomic studies are extracted from the handwritten by the late Hassan Tavassoli, student of juridical law at Tehran University, and a member for the preparation of the Detailed Plan for Yazd, Faculty of Fine Arts.
- 13.
This neighborhood is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the old city. The spatial structure of its center with another historic neighborhood center, Fahhadan, is shown in Fig. 4.14.
- 14.
Kooshk-i Now water mill was a part of the whole complex of the Kooshk-i Now neighborhood center in the inner core of the historic city of Yazd. See Fig. 4.7.
- 15.
Nain was the first city that we selected for a comparative study with Yazd in 1974. Also for a useful book on Nain, see Sultanzade (1996).
- 16.
There is no clear archaeological information about this pre-Islamic fortress. See Mosahab, The Persian Encyclopedia on Nain.
- 17.
See Abu’l-Qasim Mehrabadi, Atishkada-yi Ardestan, op. cit., p. 149.
- 18.
Considering the style of Iranian Mosques, see Andre Godard, The Art of Iran. In Part 5, he discusses the formation of Iranian Mosques with central courtyard and four ivans and identifies the Friday mosque of Zaware as the first type of this style.
- 19.
The study of the spatial structure of Zaware is based on a comparison between the information of the old document: Atishkada-yi Ardestan, with the existing fabric and guidance of local masters in 1972.
- 20.
For a selected information on Tabas, see The Persian Encyclopedia.
- 21.
For an illustrated document about the gardens of Tabas, see Daneshdust (1990).
- 22.
We dealt primarily with the spatial structure of Semnan in Principles and Techniques of Urban Design in Iran. The information is based on the study by the author for Detailed Plan for Semnan, Parhoon consulting engineers, 1983.
- 23.
The study of the spatial structure of Kashan is based on a comparison between the information of the document: Naraghi H (1969), Athar-i Tarikhi-yi Shahrestanha-yi Kashan va Natanz, with the existing fabric of the city, and guidance of local masters in 1972.
- 24.
- 25.
These two cities clearly express the difference between two historical fabrics, the inner and the middle areas. We proposed this classification for the first time in (1986). See Principles and Techniques of Urban Design in Iran.
- 26.
We have dealt with the problem of Tehran in the 1982 edition of the present book and discussed that the problems of Tehran should be studied at national level, considering the regional balance all over the country.
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Tavassoli, M. (2016). Typical Historical Cities. In: Urban Structure in Hot Arid Environments. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39098-7_4
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