An Analysis of the Structural Differences between the Old Bazaar of Sanandaj City and the Iranian Bazaars

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An Analysis of the Structural Differences between the Old Bazaar of Sanandaj City and the Iranian Bazaars

Journal Title: Urban Strategic Thought - Year 2024, Vol 2, Issue 2

Abstract

Introduction: The characteristic of Iranian cities in the Islamic period was the presence of elements such as mosques, bazaars, neighborhoods, and government citadels, of which the mosque and the bazaar were its two main foundations, and they existed in almost all Iranian cities during the Islamic period. The bazaar usually lacked a pre-planned plan and was formed and expanded over time along the most important passages of the city. Its structure was often formed gradually and was always receptive to physical and functional changes, and the development and expansion of the city was realized in line with its structure. The old bazaar of the city of Sanandaj was built in the Safavid period in sync with the formation of the city, influenced by the ideas of urban planning and architecture of the Isfahan school, and completely ordered, by the rulers of the time, which the course of its formation is different from other Iranian bazaars. The way the bazaar was built, along with other causes and factors, has created structural differences between the old bazaar of Sanandaj city and other bazaars within the Islamic period, in a way that it distinguishes it from other Iranian old bazaars. The Purpose of the Research: The present research aims to compare the structural characteristics of the old bazaar of Sanandaj city with other Iranian bazaars, to reveal the differences, and to interpret and explain the causes and factors influencing the creation of these differences and distinctions. Methodology: Due to the reliance on qualitative data and text interpretation methods, this article is methodologically placed in the group of qualitative researches, and the main method of data analysis in it is guided by qualitative content analysis. In guided qualitative content analysis, understanding and interpreting the themes used in the texts is more important than the quantitative counting of words and phrases. In this research, based on the common methods of sampling in qualitative researches, examples of related studies and researches have been selected to facilitate the achievement of the intended goals, and in fact, the focus has been on the texts that they contain more information for the purpose of research. Based on this, the selection of the researches used in the theoretical foundations and research background section, which are a platform for content analysis in the following sections, was based on key concepts such as bazaar, old bazaar, Iranian Islamic city, Iranian city structure, etc. Findings and Discussion: The findings of the research show that the structure of the old bazaar of Sanandaj city is different from other Iranian bazaars in terms of the components of spatial-physical settlement, the shape structure, the spatial connection and the continuity with the main elements of the city (neighborhood’s, government citadel and mosque). Conclusion: The structural and physical characteristics of the old bazaar of Sanandaj are largely derived from the political and military role of the city and the city-fortress structure of Sanandaj. Also for the design and establishment of the bazaar, only the physical aspect with the centrality and the government castle centrality has been emphasized. Its functional aspect, including commercial, social, communication, cultural and religious functions, was not the priority of its founders. The reasons for the difference between the structure of Sanandaj bazaar and other bazaars in terms of spatial-physical arrangement can be explained due to security considerations and defining the main communication axis of the city between the two main centers of power, the planned design and construction of the bazaar together with other urban elements, following the ideas of urban planning and architecture of the Isfahan school, the need to create security due to the establishment of the bazaar outside the protective wall of the city, as well as the way of establishing the shops in the old bazaar of Sanandaj. The climatic conditions are one of the main reasons for the difference between the Sanandaj bazaar and other Iranian bazaars in terms of the structural component of the bazaar. The castle structure of the castle in the city, the topographic conditions, competition and political and military conflicts cause the difference between the old bazaar of Sanandaj and other Iranian bazaars in the component of spatial connection with the main elements of the city.

Authors and Affiliations

Mohamad Ebrahim Zarei, Houshmand Alizadeh, Arman Bahmani Oramani

Keywords

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EP ID EP759646
DOI 10.30479/ust.2024.20776.1159
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