Urban Experience in Safavid Cities: A Reading of Pleasure-Seeking and Pilgrimage in the Travelogue Muhit al-Kawnayn by Salik Qazvini

Introduction

For a prolonged period, the historical studies regarding the concept of ‘city’ sufficed to examine only the physical aspects of urban spaces, despite it being a complex phenomenon. The primary steps those studies opted for included identification of the urban elements (e.g. plazas, bazaars, schools, palaces, sacred buildings, etc.), examination of the locations’ topography and the components’ interrelation within the urban-scape, analysis of the construction techniques and architectural features of each building, depictions within the context of architectural tradition/history, and discovery of their differences and innovations. Ultimately, if a concept was conceived, it stood at the intersection between a city and its economic, political, religious, and social affairs.
Along with the developments in modern history, however, numerous other methods for examining and discussing various spheres of urban spaces gradually emerged; researchers noticed the significance in a different aspect of cities – the experiences and emotions intertwined with urban spaces. According to these scholars, ‘modern cities’ possessed certain characteristics that allowed further connection and interaction with the inhabitants, referred to as the ‘urban experience’. They realized, in a later stage of progress, that such experiences could be found not only in modern cities but also in pre-modern ones.
The very same standpoint affected the historical studies regarding the Islamic cities – namely the Safavid Isfahan and the Ottoman Istanbul – as well as the emerging cities on the threshold of the early modern era, such as the Mughal India and the Islamic West; due to their peculiar characteristics, these cities were comparable to their western modern counterparts. One of these characteristics is the pursuit of pleasure in public urban spaces, a concept studied and attributed to Safavid Isfahan, particularly on Chahar Bagh Street, as well as its squares and bridges.
In this article, through the versified travelogue Muhit al-Kunayn authored by Salik Qazvini, we aim to study one aspect of pleasure-seeking and explore this concept not in gardens, squares, and bridges, but in markets, not only in Safavid Isfahan but also in other cities of the era.

Literature Review

In recent years, scholars have reexamined the notion of pleasure-seeking within Iranian urban settings, with a consensus that Isfahan, the capital of the Safavid Empire, is a pivotal point for this exploration. Isfahan's unique physical and social features have prompted researchers to view it as a city that accommodated a larger urban population and provided ample space for leisure activities. However, most research has focused on third-person perspectives, with less emphasis on personal experiences and memories within urban spaces. Kathryn Babayan's The City as Anthology (2021) marked a shift by exploring urban life through themes of love and friendship, reconsidering the concept of pleasure in Safavid Isfahan. Inspired by Babayan, this article revisits Salik Qazvini's travelogue, expanding the concept to other cities and highlighting the complexity of human experiences in urban environments.
In “Discursive Images and Urban Itineraries” (2018), Emami examined the interplay between literature and urban landscapes, noting Qazvini's “spatial realism”. Additionally, Losensky's work, “Poetics and Eros in Early Modern Persia” (2009), provided a foundational basis by exploring Mohtsham Kashani's love experiences. Although Losensky focused more on rhetoric than city depiction, his approach helps us delve into Salik's experiences within urban spaces, particularly the bazaar.

Methodology

This article employs a multi-faceted approach to investigate the concept of urban experience within Iranian cities. Methodologically, it involves an analysis of primary sources, such as Salik Qazvini's travelogue, and secondary sources including works by Babayan, Emami, and Losensky on Safavid culture. The study utilizes a comparative approach to highlight similarities and differences in portrayals of urban life in Persian literature tradition. Additionally, contextual analysis situates texts within historical and cultural contexts. Moreover, a background layer incorporates the phenomenological method to interpret the text.

Discussion

For the purpose of the article, we first demonstrate how the travelogue reflects Salik Qazvini's personal experiences and poetic individuality within the context of Safavid-era poetry, particularly the “fresh style”. Then, through his experiences, we trace the unique urban pleasure of Salik, which involves the pursuit of beauty in the cities. We ponder upon all the cities that Salik visited—cities such as Qazvin, Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Baghdad, and various cities in India—and we reexamine these cities through his eyes, revealing the layers of his definition of the cities. In the process of deciphering the text, we come to realize that a significant part of the city's definition arises from the complexity of human emotions and subjectivity. This definition is intricately linked to the subjective experiences of its residents as much as it is to the objective elements of the city. While the physical backdrop of the city remains constant for everyone, the perception of the city often varies with each individual's unique experiences. We further explore this distinction by contrasting the experiences of several other poets with those of Salik. Additionally, we delve into the complexity of the poet's emotional attachment to the city, as exemplified through pilgrimage and pleasure in his travelogue. Through this exploration, we illustrate that the inner sentiments of individuals encountering the phenomenon of the city are varied and encompass a diverse spectrum of emotions.

Conclusion

Studying Safavid-era poetry, known as the “fresh style”, reveals that poets of this period skillfully blended tradition with innovation to explore earthly issues and everyday experiences. Salik Qazvini's travelogue stands out for its portrayal of the city as a primary setting for personal experiences and emotions. Using various poetic forms like couplet-poem, ode, lyric poem, eulogy, and city disturber, along with themes of mysticism, Sufism, and romance, Qazvini constructs the cityscape from his unique perspective. He depicts the city as a realm for pleasure and intellectual exploration, intertwining its beauty with that of the beloved, reflecting the personal and social experiences of its inhabitants.
The second discussion addresses the poet's complex subjectivity towards the city. Qazvini expresses various emotional layers when encountering urban landscapes. His travelogue narrates his journey both as a pilgrim and an observer, blending religious and worldly experiences. These intertwined aspects of urban life illustrate the multifaceted nature of human experiences within dynamic urban settings.

Acknowledgments

The first author is deeply indebted to Rasul Jafarian for introducing her to the poetic sources for architectural reading and for providing continuous guidance in reading and analyzing the text over more than three years.