HORMOZ & QESHM
The two islands are clearly visible on the horizon from the beach
at Bandar_e Abbas. Hormoz on the left, Qeshm on the right. They
can be reached in two hours by motor-launch. Qeshm is very large,
almost 100 km long and few tourists can pretend to know it.
"A view of Qeshm Island"
Hormoz appears to be bristling with pointed mountain peaks.
The island is round with a beak jutting towards the mainland.
The headland is occupied by a large village, a fishing port,
a magnificent beach and, on a rocky promontory, a fort. Its
walls and towers, although damaged, are still impressive. The
strange thing about this edifice is its colors - an intense red
veering to purplish-blue. On taking a closer look at its walls
they reveal themselves as being built of coral blocks. In the
middle of the fort two large vaulted cisterns bear witness to
the size of the building. It is what remains of the Albuquerque
stronghold built in 1520.
Hormoz (or Ormuz) had been a prosperous town at that time, an
early link between East and West. Its conquest by the Portuguese
was no easy matter. It was said that the admiral in command had
make a vow not to trim his beard until such time as he entered
the town. Once that happened the invaders remained there for a
century and two years. Today, the hovercrafts of the Iranian Navy
land regularly on the beach, the beautiful sand of which is
gradually burying the citadel.
"A waster reservoir in Qeshm Island"
In the near future peaceful battalions of holidaymakers will,
in turn, invade Hormoz, the colorful island. Its peaks are ready
for the mountain-climbers, its creeks for the skin-divers, its
ancient stones for the amateur archaeologists and its beaches
for those wise people for whom a bit of sum, tranquility and
crystal-clear water suffice to forget the turmoils of this world.
