Persian Gulf - Iran - page 424

Bandar Abbasسابع ردنب
0761 / POP 379,301
Though founded by and named for one of Persia's greatest kings, Shah Abbas I, the bust-
ling 'Port of Abbas' is short on both historical features and charisma these days. Strategic-
ally positioned overlooking the Strait of Hormoz and the entrance to the Persian Gulf, the
city, known to most Iranians simply as 'Bandar', is the capital of Hormozgan province
and home to Iran's busiest port but doesn't have much to offer the foreign visitor - we
only include it as a transport hub for Qeshm and Hormoz.
Smuggling is big business here - everything from cars to carpets circumnavigates the
customs inspectors in these parts. Needless to say, if you're walking along the seafront at
night and notice boxes being hurriedly unloaded from a dark-coloured speedboat, resist
the temptation to offer to help with the haulage.
History
The rise, fall and rise again of Bandar Abbas over the last five centuries has been directly
linked to the role of meddling European powers. Once a tiny fishing village called Gamer-
un, it was chosen as Persia's main southern port and naval dockyard after Shah Abbas I
defeated the Portuguese on nearby Hormoz Island in 1622 (see the boxed text, Click here ) .
The British East India Company was granted a trading concession, as were Dutch and
French traders, and by the 18th century Bandar had become the chief Persian port and
main outlet for the trade in Kermani carpets.
The port went into decline following the end of the Safavid dynasty and the withdrawal
in 1759 of the British East India Company. The Sultan of Oman took control of Bandar in
1793 and held sway until 1868. The city's role remained peripheral until the Iran-Iraq
War, when Iran's established ports at Bushehr, Bandar-e Imam Khomeini and Khorram-
shahr were either captured or became too dangerous for regular shipping. With the help of
road and railway links to Tehran and Central Asia, it hasn't looked back.
IRAN'S BANDARI
About 3% of Iranians are Arab and most of these live in Bushehr, Khuzestan and Hormozgan provinces, near or on
the Persian Gulf coast. They have traditionally lived in the Gulf ports (known as bandars ) and are often called
Bandari . Arabs in Khuzestan are mostly Shiite, many having arrived from Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, while
those along the Persian Gulf are mainly Sunni.