The physical-Spatial Structure of the Iranian City during the Naseri Period from the Perspective of the Western Tourists

Despite having maintained the traditional physical structure, the Iranian city at the time of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar was slowly changing as a result of being introduced to the Western architecture and the entrance of new construction technologies to the country. It presented the elements of modernity that are reflected in the reports of the tourists visiting Iran. This article, using a historical approach and implementing a descriptive-analytical method relying on the travel writing texts, aimed to present an image of the physical appearances of the city during the Naseri period from the Western tourists' viewpoints. The article discusses how the Western architectural elements entered Iran at the beginning of Naser al-Din’s rule, a phenomenon that gradually led to the conceptual changes in the city and later the physical ones. The findings showed that the Iranian city at this time was accompanied by the physical and conceptual changes. Its physical changes shared the essence of Western modernity, while the school of Tehran influenced its conceptual elements.