representation of identical city elements in travel writings: a comparative study f tehran and other cities in tehran province

this study explores identity elements of tehran province in travel writings with concentration on symbols in urban planning and architecture. on one hand, symbolic representation of a city plays a crucial role in identity making and on the other hand special provinces and cities like tehran are important in echoing contemporary iranian national identity and are highly closed to today’s iran. in this perspective, representation of iran in travel writings somehow reflects hopes and disappointments of urban identity. our perspective in this article is to concentrate on elements of urban identity as is described in the travel writings. therefore, based on analyzing 24 travel writings by either domestic or international travel writers with a content analysis method, we studied representation of elements and symbols of identity making in tehran province. the categories of elements as well as symbols of identity include basic buildings, urban planning and related policies, cultural symbols, urban media and urban furniture. findings show that representation of tehran in travel writings has been shaped by dualities of the east against the west, uptown against downtown, or tehran against other cities of the province or other cities of the country or even against the world.