Analyzing the Environmental Graphic Applied in Iran’s Religious Places (Case Study: Shahcheragh’s Astaneh)

Abstract

Shahcheragh Holy Shrine (tomb of Ahmad Ibn Musa (PBUH)) is the brilliant bezel of Shiraz and an index of Islamic-Iranian architecture and it is not only a shelter for the Iranian and non-Iranian pilgrims’ refuge but also for a large number of foreign tourists. Shahcheragh is amongst the superior specimens of Iran’s Islamic architecture and it has granted it a spatial identity. The present study relies on the environmental graphic’s aesthetics and outstanding identity to investigate its influential role in the increase in the number of the religious tourism. In line with this and based on a descriptive-analytical method and in a documentary method through research in the credible websites (and articles), the environmental graphic and its constructive role in attracting tourists have been dealt with. The results of this research indicated that creative confrontation along with paying attention to the national identity not only adds to the religious attractions thereof but also makes it persistently remain in the minds of the internal and external tourists and causes development in the religious tourism. It is by the identification of the primary indices applied in Shahcheragh’s environmental graphic and, on the other hand, the relationship between the various sectorial layers (building’s structure, (Islamic) architectural decorations and contemporary additions) that tourists’ guidance can be established. Artists use this art for designing symbols and drawing guiding tableaus. Such kinds of applied decorations are amongst the ornaments added to this building during the contemporary era. Guiding the pilgrims to this sacred place (Shahcheragh) and showcasing the pictorial and graphical capabilities latent therein are amongst the present study’s goals. These can be introduced as proper references for the application of the environmental graphic in the contemporary era’s religious places.