مجله هنر و تمدن شرق
پیاپی 17 (پاییز 1396)

Urban public open spaces play an important role in linking the constituent elements of the city and are considered to be a critical factor in the city. The oldest context of the cities of Morocco, known as Medina, due to preserving its original structure, consists of good patterns for the recognition and analysis of vital open spaces. The public open spaces of the two cities of Fes and Meknes in Morocco are the case studies in this paper. During the visit to Medina of the two cities of Fes and Meknes, a dramatic difference was seen in public open space of these two cities. Public open space in Medina of Meknes is relatively geometric and shaped by larger scales, while this type of open space is not seen in Medina of Fes. Most public spaces in Medina of Fes have organic geometry. These differences led the author to find out more about the open spaces in these two cities (Medinas) by examining and analyzing field observations of the typology of these types of spaces and how to search them. Meknes and Fes are chosen for this research because of some similarities as both of them were the capital of Morocco in periods of Moroccan history, the recording of both the textures in the UNESCO historical monuments and the location of both in a geographic area on the one hand and the structural differences in their public open spaces on the other hand has taken place. Fes, with its ancient history and urbanization attributed to the descendants of Imam Hassan Mojtaba (peace be upon him) as an ancient Islamic pattern, is important. Meknes As well is significant because of the inclusion of more complete examples of public open space in Medina. This paper seeks to discover the typology of the public open spaces in Fas and Meknes, based on field observation which is the basis for future research on why these differences are emerging. This descriptive-analytic study was conducted by collecting and analyzing information based on field observations and collecting information from library studies. The review and analysis of various public open spaces in Fes and Meknes shows that the public open spaces in Medina of these two cities can be classified in the following categories: the squares in the Medina texture, the open spaces in front of the outstanding monuments, the open spaces at the intersection of several pathways and the open (semi-open) spaces in neighboring units. The open spaces in front of the outstanding monuments and open spaces at the intersection of their pathways include sub-species. This paper examines and analyzes how these open spaces are arranged and what are the existing elements in them.

As the shaping and developing nucleus of human communities throughout history, historical texture has a significant role in the cultural heritage and reflection of local landscape. In recent decades, simultaneous to the development of tourism industry, these textures found another role in urban life. As touristic destinations, these textures extensively affect the economic life of cities. The multiplicity of aims in expanding tourism industry along with the revival and representation of cultural values and local landscape in these textures are the apparent challenges in the way of reviving and renovating historical textures, particularly in the developing countries. The historical texture of Moroccan cities reflects these challenges. The revival and renovation of the historical texture of Asilah, done with the aim of “preserving the ancient texture with a particular focus on tourism,” reflects the influence of the local landscape of historical texture of the city in various dimensions, either positive or negative.
Considering the total procedures and actions of revival and renovation of the historical texture of Asilah on the one side, and field observations on the other side, this work seeks to investigate the scale of the influence of these factors. The findings of this investigation shows that the program of the reconstruction and revival of the medina has acted like a bilateral sword, buttressing the local landscape of the city in one aspect and unsettling it from other aspects. On physical dimension, these actions have enhanced the readability and quantitative entity of the texture, but have negatively affected the qualitative dimension and local life. Though, the interferences preferred by tourists and their subsequent activities have been less destructive in comparison to other cities in Morocco.

In cities of Morocco, the important part of the urban landscapes is made up of the old texture of Medina. On the other hand, for the important role that alleys play in life and survival of these textures, this subject is taken into consideration in this study. After observing and considering some cities, it was revealed that color is one of the most obvious elements of landscapes in alleys of Morocco, presence and persistence of color in these alleys take place so powerful that color as the first perceived element remains in mind for ever. In the landscapes of Moroccan alleys, there are two attitudes in the way color is used, but with common goal that has been noticed in this study. First the alleys in which the color comes as the cover of walls, and the other in the cities of historical importance, which the dominant color of landscapes is the natural color of materials. Through intentional applying color for covering with courage and also trying to preserve the color of materials in historical alleys and the dominance of color in alleys atmosphere, it can be perceived that applying color is used as a policy for reinforcing the fame of tourism in cities of Morocco. The importance and application of color in Moroccan alleys have been so great that it is an effective indicator of the name and fame of city. Answering to the question of “where has the idea of being colorful in the policy of tourisms entered to Moroccan alleys?” is the aim of this study. The findings of field observation along with library study about the art and culture of native Africans and also the study of stand of color in branding have been used to answer this question.

The hangout spot in the Medinas of Morocco has been recognized as the center of the neighborhood. The centers are featured by the inseparable elements of the space or fountains. The fountains and their features are of special importance to the centers. This paper is an attempt to examine how fountains and their features make the neighborhood unique. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. In the first section of this paper, the role of the fountain in evoking the image of the neighborhood in the minds’ of its audience is examined. The fountains are frequently repeated in the center of the neighborhoods. The recurrence of an element makes it memorable and transforms it into a sign. What make fountains more unique are their contrasts with other elements in the texture. In the second part, nature and quality characteristics of the fountains are delved into and it is attempted to show that there is more to the fountain than meets the eye. The similarity shared between the decorations of the fountains and those of important spaces such as mosques, schools and the yards of the houses show that this element is of the spiritual importance to the inhabitants. In fact, people identify themselves with the fountains.
Data were gathered through observations. To this purpose, fifteen neighborhoods of the Medinas from the six cities were chosen. The analysis of data shows that the fountains are the sign of the centers of neighborhoods in the Medinas. The neighborhood can be identified with them and the spaces with no fountains fail to serve as the neighborhood center.

One of the basic principles in the rehabilitation and renovation of old or precious textures is maintaining the attention to the flow of life and socialization of citizens while the physical and structural restoration of the texture is being carried out. The rehabilitation principle behind Medinas of Morocco has succeeded to maintain the integrity of the textures in its true sense. It also has turned the Medinas into tourist destinations which are popular with tourists from all over the world. The Medinas, the core of each city and its old textures, have been distinguished from other parts of the city for their building’s physical renovations. The physical structures of the residential and commercial buildings have been in the Medinas over the years. What has made the renovation of the textures a successful experience is not only the measurement for building’s physical renovations but also the particular management strategies adopted for preserving the citizenship life in the textures. Such strategies have established a balance between the economic, cultural and livelihood-associated aspect of the physical structure of the city and the lifestyle of residents. This balance is all about preserving the cultural and economic status of the inhabitants of the tissues. This experience has been a success because the citizens’ needs for the livelihoods have been fairly served in the context and the residents’ relative satisfaction has been fulfilled. Moroccan Medinas can serve as a model of the recent theory of “balanced renovation.” This theory argues that status of being worn-out could be caused by the imbalance in the dimensions of life while modernization can re-establish and maintain this balance.”The solution for preventing the imbalance is to maintain the flow of life of the residents in the textures. In Morocco, all the measurements in this regards have been carried out in accordance with the limitations imposed by the physical structures of the cities in the historical texture. In so doing, Morocco has been able to preserve the historical textures in the spatial organization of the cities and appreciate the associated values of the physical structure of the cities.

Iran and Armenia shared wide historical, political, and cultural ties with Armenia over long millennium historical periods. Armenia came under the rule of Iranian emperor since the Medes; from then they were politically, culturally, and religiously touched. The religious effect of Iranian on Armenian was sustained up to the middle third-century by Gregory the Illuminator until Armenian turned into Christianity. Considering that Iranians and Armenians are siblings and regarding the geographical proximity, it seems that the two nations were mutually interacting in different areas including religions and beliefs. In this regard, the present research intends to study Goddess Anahita’s place among ancient Iranians and Armenians and to investigate the effects of Iranian goddess on Armenian god.