zohreh javanbakht qahfarrokhy

Pilgrimage is a social concept which has an association with sacred places and has long been of interest in different communities. Imam Reza's Holy Shrine is a sacred place which attracts millions of pilgrims every year. Due to the fact that there is a direct relationship and interaction between Mashhad pilgrims and inhabitants in this city, a spatial text of pilgrimage has been produced as a result of the pilgrimages in the destination. In the present article, spatial text of Imam Reza pilgrimage has been assessed on the basis of some dialecticians’ theories such as Henri Lefebvre’s. The ways that this spatial text can be produced, analyzed and characterized have been also evaluated; therefore, this study can be considered as a theoretical and analytical research of Imam Reza’s spatial text on a conceptual framework in accordance with Lefebvre’s model in which the existing binary oppositions and typology have been appraised. Based on these evaluations, some suggestions have been proposed apropos of Imam Reza’s spatial text and the obtained findings indicate that the spatial text of Imam Reza pilgrimage is a cultural text whose elements will provide religious awareness and recognition for both pilgrims and inhabitants. So, the effect of each element should be methodically assessed and prioritized when making decision about macro and micro elements of spatial text of Imam Reza pilgrimage.

The study of the feasibility of rural tourism in different regions requires the accurate investigation in five common sections: 1. attractions 2. accessibility 3. infrastructural establishments and facilities 4. Hospitality and accommodation services 5. organizational and institutional factors, and also presenting the rural tourism to the demanding markets. The products can be appraised within the framework of various indexes and models which are all considered as the study of the feasibility of rural tourism; therefore, the current study intends to assess rural tourism in Esfidan region of North Khorasan and assess the potentiality of the presentation of the rural tourism to the markets. Based on the findings of the present article, the tourism potential of Esfidan is at an elementary level. Also, there are some paucities in different sections which should be removed especially in hospitality services. It must also be heededthat marketing would better be organized on the basis of natural attractions and ecotourism, since they can be helpful at regional, national and international levels.