The Position of the Holy Shrines in the City (Case Study: Emamzade Yahya Shrine in Sari)

From the advent of Islam, the religious buildings are one of the main elements of the Islamic cities and the religious buildings in the form and structure of the city was with the creation of the first Islamic cities. One of the religious buildings with effective role in organizing the Islamic cities is holy shrine. The sons of Imam (12 Imam in Shia) and the related shrines are considered. There are some holy shrines in Iraq and most of them are in the cities and villages of Iran. Sadat (the son and grand sons of Imam) distribution was not similar in all areas and the there are many holy shrines where they felt safe as Rey Mountain, Tabarestan and some central areas in Iran. As Mazandaran province (Old Tabarestan) was the place of formation of Alavian government and the children of the Prophete peace be upon him and most of the Sadat and the children of Imaman (pbuh) were killed in the battles in this region and the war with the enemies of the Prophete children, there are many holy shrines in this area. According to the statistics 1996, there are more than 979 shrines in Mazandaran province. The present study was done to evaluate the position of the holy shrines in a city with the case study of Imamzade Yahya shrine in Sari (one of the ancient cities in Mazandaran) was done with field study. The aim was the evaluation of the position of this shrine in old tissue of Sary city as the identity center and social interaction center of this city and its structural-spatial organization is as it is linked with the historical identity of the past of the city. The present study investigated the active nature of this area with the presence of market and Imamzade Yahya shrine as the economical center and referred to the important role of this shrine in the old tissue of Sari as one of the organizing elements in this city.