IRANIAN HOUSE IN TRAVELOGUES “INVESTIGATING THE ATTRIBUTES OF IRANIAN HOUSES IN TRAVELOGUES IN THE SAFAVID AND QAJAR ERAS”

Abstract

Travelogues are the documented and written part of the history of Iran in which the incidents and events occur based on temporal and spatial observations and experiences. The architectural attributes and characteristics of the houses in the Safavid and Qajar era and the lifestyle within them recorded by the tourists in the travelogues are valuable resources that can be studied in recognizing Iranian houses, leading to more understanding of the architecture of the houses at that time.

The main question of the research is whether specific information can be obtained by studying the travelogues of the Safavid and Qajar eras regarding the architecture of the houses of that period.

The current research was a library study conducted by studying the travelogues in the libraries. Since tourists’ most observations were based on the public spaces of the cities, there were fewer documents about the houses, and the tourists could provide little information on all parts of the houses as they were not able to be present in every part of the houses. The results indicated that the houses were considered by the tourists, and they paid attention to the lifestyle, building, construction method, interior architecture, and the space ornaments regarding the houses and provided valuable information. Thus, travelogues can be considered as precious documents to understand the architecture of the Iranian houses more especially in the Safavid and Qajar eras.