Geographica Timisiensis
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ISSN – L: 1224 – 0079 ISSN (on-line): 2248 - 1877 WEST UNIVERSITY OF TIMIŞOARA FACULTY OF CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY GEOGRAPHICA TIMISIENSIS Vol. XXI, nr.1, 2012 TIMIŞOARA ` EDITORS: Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Nicolae POPA Assistant Editors: Prof. Dr. Martin OLARU, Lect. Dr. Cătălina ANCUŢA Technical Editors: Ass Prof. Dr. Constantin VERT, Lect. Dr. Sorin PAVEL, Lect. Dr. Ramona IŞFĂNESCU Editorial Secretary: Claudia MUŢULESCU, Florina ARDELEAN EDITORIAL BOARD: Prof. Dr. Dan BĂLTEANU (member of the Romanian Academy), University of Bucharest, Prof. Dr. Alexandru UNGUREANU (corresponding member of the Romanian Academy), University „Al. I. Cuza” of Iaşi, Lect. Dr. Cătălina ANCUŢA, West University of Timişoara, Prof. Dr. Joan Serafi BERNAT MARTI, „Jaume I” University of Castellon, Spain, Prof. Dr. Milan BUFON, „Primorska” University of Koper, Slovenia, Prof .Dr. Nicolae CIANGĂ, „Babeş-Bolyai” University of Cluj- Napoca, Prof. Dr. Pompei COCEAN, „Babeş-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca, Prof. Dr. Remus CREŢAN, West University of Timişoara, Prof. Dr. Branislav DJURDJEV, University of Novi Sad, Serbia, Prof. Dr. Liliana DUMITRACHE, University of Bucharest, Prof. Dr. Vasile EFROS, University of Suceava, Prof. Dr. Javier ESPARCIA PÉREZ, University of Valencia, Spain, Prof. Dr. Horst FÖRSTER, „Eberhard Karls” University of Tübingen, Germany, Prof. Dr. Jean Baptiste HUMEAU, University of Angers, France, Prof. Dr. Ioan IANOŞ, University of Bucharest, Prof. Dr. Corneliu IAŢU, University „Al. I. Cuza” of Iaşi, Prof. Dr. Alexandru ILIEŞ, University of Oradea, Prof. Dr. Sebastian KINDER, „Eberhard Karls” University of Tübingen, Germany, Ass Prof. Dr. Duncan LIGHT, Liverpool Hope University, Great Britain, Prof. Dr. Ionel MUNTELE, University „Al. I. Cuza” of Iaşi, Prof. Dr. Silviu NEGUŢ, Academy of Economic Studies of Bucharest, Prof. Dr. Martin OLARU, West University of Timişoara, Prof. Dr. Nicolae POPA, West University of Timişoara, Prof. Dr André-Louis SANGUIN, University of Paris 4, Sorbonne, France, Prof. Dr. Vasile SURD, „Babeş-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca, Prof. Dr. Petru URDEA, West University of Timişoara, Ass Prof. Dr. Constantin VERT, West University of Timişoara, Prof. Dr. Vincent VESCHAMBRE, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture of Lyon, France. Responsible of the number: Lect. univ. dr. Ioan Sebastian JUCU *** The content of the published materials falls under the author’s responsability exclusively. The manuscripts and exchange reviews, as well as any correspondence will be send on the address of the Editorial Office of "GEOGRAPHICA TIMISIENSIS" review. Address of the Editorial Office: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST DIN TIMIŞOARA Departamentul de Geografie B-dul Vasile Pârvan, Nr. 4 300223 - TIMIŞOARA, ROMÂNIA Tel.: 00 40 256 592 225, Fax: 00 40 256 592 312 [email protected] ISSN - L: 1224 – 0079 ISSN (on-line): 2248 – 1877 Geographica Timisiensis, vol. 21, nr. 1, 2012 ● CONTENT CUPRINS Istvan EGRESI, Büşra BAYRAM, Fatih KARA – Tourism at religoius sites: a case from Mardin, Turkey. Turismul din cadrul siturilor religioase: studiu de caz - Mardin, Turcia ...................................................................................................................... (pp. 5-15) Ioan Sebastian JUCU – Cultural heritage, local identity and urban regeneration. The case study of Lugoj Municipality, Romania. Moştenire culturală, identitate locală şi regenerare urbană: Studiu de caz privind Municipiul Lugoj, România................................... (pp. 17-36) Milica SOLAREVIC, Branislav, S., DJURDJEV, Daniela ARSENOVIC – The population aging in Slovak settlements in Vojvodina. The example of Backi Petrovac and Kovacica. Îmbătrânirea demografică din cadrul aşezărilor slovace. Studiu de caz Backi Petrovac şi Kovacica.............................................................................................. (pp. 37-60) Florentina ION BUZĂIANU – The dynamics of the population from rural settlements in the space adjacent to the axis Bucharest-Ploieşti. Dinamica demografică din cadrul aşezărilor rurale din spaţiul situat în proximitatea axei Bucureşti-Ploieşti ................................................................................................................................ (pp. 61-75) Vladimir MARKOVIĆ, Nemanja DAVIDOVIĆ, Tanja ARMENSKI, Milan BRADIĆ – Principles of sustainable development of hunting tourism in Vojvodina Region. Principii ale dezvoltării durabile centrate pe turismul de vânătoare din Regiunea Voievodinei............................................................................................................. (pp. 77-89) Aleksandra PRODANOVIĆ, Zoran RISTIĆ, Snežana ŠTETIĆ – Hunting trophies exhibitions impact on the development of tourist destination. Expoziţiile trofeelor de vânătoare şi impactul acestora asupra dezvoltării destinaţiilor turistice........... (pp. 91-101) Cătălina CÂRSTEA – The importance of Ion Conea in the research of the elements of Carpathian Geography in the old historic and cartographic documents. Rolul lui Ion Conea în cadrul cercetării elementelor de Geografie a Carpaţilor pe baza vechilor documente istorice şi cartografice ...................................................................................... (pp. 103-119) ● Geographica Timisiensis, vol. 20, nr. 2, 2011 Geographica Timisiensis, vol. 21, nr. 1, 2012 (pp. 5-15) • TOURISM AT RELIGIOUS SITES: A CASE FROM MARDIN, TURKEY Istvan EGRESI Fatih University, Department of Geography, 34500 Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, Turkey, e-mail: [email protected] Büşra BAYRAM Independent Scholar, e-mail: busra,[email protected] Fatih KARA Fatih University, Department of Geography,34500 Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, Turkey, e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Religion has been and continues to be a major motivation for travel. Many religions make the visitation of sacred sites a mandatory act for all followers who are healthy and can afford it. However, more recent research suggests that motivation for religious tourism is multifaceted and multilayered. Not all visitors to religious sites are “pious travelers”. Many secular tourists visit these sites for completely non-religious purposes such as for historical, cultural or architectural motives. It is then important to understand what motivates tourists to visit religious sites and how can their expectations be met by the local authorities and tourism managers. This study was conducted in the Turkish province of Mardin, an area blessed with a great number of religious and cultural sites belonging to both Islam and Christianity. We found that, in Mardin, religious sites are visited for their historical and cultural value rather than for their sacred and spiritual value. Many tourists are actually attracted to Mardin by the multi-religious and multi-cultural character of the province. Rezumat: Religia a fost şi continuă să fie o componentă majoră pentru călătoriile cu caracter turistic. Numeroasele religii fac din vizitarea siturilor sfinte un act obligatoriu pentru toţi cei care doresc şi îşi permit astfel de practici turistice. Literatura contemporană de specialitate ilustrează faptul că motivaţiile turismului religios sunt diferite şi prezintă o mare diversificare. Nu toţi cei care practică turismul religios sunt călători evlavioşi. Mulţi dintre turişti practică această formă de călătorie din motive nereligioase aceasta fiind determinată de raţiuni istorice, culturale sau referitoare la stilurile şi tipurile arhitecturale. În general este foarte important să înţelegem care sunt motivaţiile turiştilor pentru vizitarea siturilor religioase şi cum sunt împlinite aşteptările acestora în contact cu autorităţile locale şi managerii din domeniul turistic. Această lucrare a fost realizată pentru una din provinciile Turciei şi anume Mardin, un areal binecuvântat de un potenţial turistic religios deosebit de bogat care aparţine atât religiei islamice, cât şi celei creştine. Pe baza prezentei cercetări am descoperit că în această provincie siturile religioase sunt vizitate mai degrabă pentru marea lor valoare istorică şi culturală şi mai puţin pentru valoarea spirituală a sa. Mulţi turişti sunt atraşi de provincia Mardin tocmai de caracterul multi-cultural şi multi-religios al acestei provincii turceşti. Keywords: Middle East, pilgrimage, religion, religious tourism, tourism motivation. Cuvinte cheie: Estul Mijlociu, pelegrinaj, religie, turism religios, motivaţie turistică. 6 • Tourism at religious sites: a case of Mardin, Turkey 1. INTRODUCTION: RELIGION AND PILGRIMAGE Religion has for long been a strong motivating factor for people to travel (Wall and Mathieson, 2006). Some sources argue that people traveled to sacred sites even 30,000 years ago (Blackwell, 2007). While we know very little about those pilgrims there is plenty of information available about contemporary pilgrimages. Many religions make the visitation of sacred sites a mandatory act for all followers who are healthy and can afford it. For example, in Islam, pilgrimage to Mecca is mandatory for all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to do it at least once during their lifetime. This pilgrimage, known as Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The pilgrimage pre-dates the time of Prophet Mohammed and Islam going back four thousand years to the time of Abraham (Ibrahim). Some pilgrims also travel to Medina, the second holiest city in Islam where they visit the Mosque of the Prophet which contains Mohammed’s tomb. Between one and two million foreign pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia