Dovecots: tourist attraction of Isfahan villages

Today, tourism is considered as one of the major economic activities in many courtiers. Given the financial resources devoted to and the workforce involved in tourism, it has appeared as a global thriving industry. One of the notable subdivisions of this industry is rural tourism. This kind of tourism has played a considerable role in attracting tourists and in helping economic activities all around the world. Iran is no exception. In this regard, among the cities of Iran, villages of Isfahan have a good potential for rural tourism. Also, considering the existing problems in Isfahan villages such as water shortage for irrigation, low agricultural productivity and joblessness etc, rural tourism may be a reliable economic alternative. Of the old structures survived in Isfahan villages, dovecots are especially important. Varity in form and size, fascination of the indoor space as well as harmony with surrounding nature are among the main rural attractions of the dovecots for tourists. Unfortunately, some of the dovecots are disappearing or have become deserted. In this connection, the studies so far done on dovecots have mainly examined architectural features of the dovecots as historical structures; little attention has been paid to the visual character of them as rural landscapes and tourism attractions. In the present study, after conducting field observations, collecting and processing data, the conditions of villages with dovecots were analyzed. Accordingly, 18 villages- based on 11 criteria- were compared with each other and then ranked. The villages enjoying better facilities, better accessibility, more dovecots and cultural, historical and natural attractions were ranked higher. Thus, higher rank villages can be considered as potential tourism centers locally and regionally.

Keywords:

Isfahan , Rural tourism , Rural landscape , Tourism attraction , Dovecot ,