Bandar Abbas

Bandar Abbas, Iran

The domed Imamzadeh Seyed Mozaffar in Bandar Abbas glows gold at sunset, seen from a low courtyard step.

Bandar Abbas is a working Gulf port on the Strait of Hormuz, worth a day or two for its bazaar, fishermen and ferries to the islands.

The place

Bandar Abbas is the capital of Hormozgan Province and the main port on Iran's southern coast, where the Persian Gulf squeezes into the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly half a million people live here, on flat ground only 9 metres above sea level. The Omani shore of Musandam faces the city across the water, and the island of Qeshm lies just offshore to the south. Inland the land rises slowly: Mount Geno stands to the north and Mount Pooladi to the north-west, while the seasonal River Shoor reaches the sea east of the centre only after rain. The city works first and charms second. Many residents came from other parts of Iran for jobs in shipping, fishing, trade and the navy, which keeps its main base and headquarters here, so the mood is practical rather than touristy. The climate shapes everything. It is a hot desert, with summer highs that can reach 49 °C, winter nights that may dip to about 5 °C, and around 170 mm of rain in a year. What makes summer punishing is humidity: warm Gulf air pushes dew points among the highest averages of any city, so the heat feels far worse than the thermometer says and daily life shifts to the evenings. Winter is the season for walking. The sea is for looking at rather than swimming in, since the water by the city is polluted. Most travellers use Bandar Abbas as a gateway to the islands, but a day or two among the harbour, the bazaar and the fishing boats gives a fair sense of a working Gulf town.

Its story

Bandar Abbas has served as a harbour for a very long time. In the Achaemenid period, the commander Scylax is recorded as setting out from this coast on a voyage towards India and the Red Sea, sent by Darius the Great. When Alexander of Macedon overran the empire, the place was known as Hormirzad. By the 16th century, Persians called it Gamrun, and a European navigator noted a name meaning 'customhouse port', which tells you what the town was for. The Portuguese took it in 1514 to guard their Gulf and Indian trade, and called it Comorão, after the lobsters and crabs along the shore. Shah Abbas the Great won it back from them, and in 1622, with help from English ships, his forces defeated the Portuguese in the region. The port was renamed Bandar-e Abbas, 'Port of Abbas', and he built it into a major trading harbour. English writers spelt the name in a dozen ways, among them Gombroon, Gumbroon and Gameroon, which shows how hard it was to catch the local pronunciation. In 1625 an Anglo-Dutch fleet attacked the Portuguese here and seized their trading posts. Later the port became known abroad for pottery, and 'Gombroon ware' reached England as an early import of fine porcelain until Chinese china replaced it. Today the harbour trades in dates, citrus, tobacco and canned tuna alongside general freight.

What to see

Culture

Bandar Abbas sits where Persian, Arab, Indian and African influences have met for centuries, and that mix shows in speech, music, cooking and dress. Many families in the wider Hormozgan region speak Bandari, a local variety of Persian, and Arabic words and Gulf habits are common. Because many residents came for work from elsewhere in Iran, the city is also a patchwork of accents and customs, with Persian as the shared language. Life follows the climate. In summer people stay indoors through the afternoon and come out after sunset, when the seafront, the bazaar and the parks fill with families. Fishing and sailing remain part of local identity, and traditional wooden boats can still be seen around the harbour and the nearby islands. Religious life is Shia Muslim in the main, with prayer times, the month of Ramadan and the mourning rituals of Muharram shaping the calendar. The Hindu temple points to older commercial links with India. Hospitality is warm, and a visitor who shows interest in the sea, the dates or the food will often be offered tea. Politics and the navy's presence make it wise to be discreet about photography near ports and military sites. When you meet local people, greet them first and accept tea politely, and never photograph naval areas, harbour installations or women without clear permission.

What to wear

Traditional dress in Bandar Abbas and the wider Hormozgan coast is bright and suited to the heat. Women in Bandari communities wear colourful dresses and loose trousers in light cotton and similar fabrics, often decorated with embroidery and metallic thread, with a patterned scarf. In some coastal communities, older women also wear a stiff face mask. Men have traditionally worn loose shirts and trousers, and a cloth wrapped on the head against the sun. Festive and wedding clothes are the main occasions when the full costume appears. Day to day, most people wear what is common across Iran. Women usually wear a headscarf with a long tunic or coat in light fabrics, and often in dark colours in public. Men favour long trousers and shirts, and shorts are uncommon outside private places. In the heat, thin cotton and linen are the practical choice for everyone. Visitors should dress for both climate and law. Women must cover their hair with a scarf and wear a loose top that covers the hips, with long trousers or a long skirt. Men should wear long trousers and a shirt with sleeves. Choose breathable natural fabrics, a hat or scarf for the sun, and comfortable closed shoes or sandals for dusty pavements. For shrines, carry a scarf, and for women a full-length cover may be offered at the entrance.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. November to March, when days are warm rather than punishing and winter nights stay mild. Summers are extremely hot and humid, with highs that can reach 49 °C, so avoid June to September if you can.

How long. 2

Getting there. Domestic flights reach Bandar Abbas from Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad, and there is an international link to Dubai. Trains run from Tehran and Mashhad, and long-distance buses come from cities such as Tehran, Kerman and Shiraz. Ferries cross the strait from Sharjah and Khasab, and local boats run daily to Hormuz and Qeshm.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources