ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the mutual relationship between women and the religious city by showing, on one hand, some of the impacts of the increase in the number of visitors in Mashhad due to higher mobility and, on the other, the opportunities it created for women who are involved in the religious city, as workers or volunteers. It attempts to fill the void with a new angle to the study of the complex pilgrimage–tourism relationship by tackling how Islamic women relate to Jahangardi va ziarat in Iran. Through theoretical and empirical analyses of the case study of the religious city of Mashhad, it becomes clear that pilgrimage sites, far from perpetuating strict doctrinal practices and women's exclusion, are places enabling women to travel for pilgrimage and leisure activities. The motivations of women pilgrims visiting Mashhad and of women involved in delivering activities linked to tourism and pilgrimage and the way pilgrimage and tourism are interlinked in their practices.
