Persian Gulf - Iran - page 432

To/From the Airport
A taxi from the airport into the centre of town costs US$6.50.
Taxi
Shuttle taxis are easy to find and cost between US$0.75 and US$1 depending on the dis-
tance. A trip within the city will cost US$3 dar baste . Most locals don't differentiate
between official taxis and private cars taking paying passengers - if you stand by the side
of the road both will toot their horns to signal their availability. Prices are the same so the
choice is yours.
Qeshm Islandمشق هريزج
0763 / POP 113,846
The largest island in the Persian Gulf, Qeshm (also known as Gheshm) is fringed with
biologically diverse mangrove forests, attractive beaches and 60 Bandari villages. Its sun-
scorched interior features geologically significant canyons, hills, caves and valleys, most
of which are now protected as part of the Unesco-recognised Qeshm Island Geopark.
Qeshm is a duty-free zone - a sort of poor person's Kish - but in a Gulf increasingly
full of gleaming skyscrapers it remains refreshingly attached to the age-old Bandari way
of life. Here, locals wear traditional dress, live in houses cooled by badgirs (windtowers)
and work in boat-building yards turning out lenges, the large wooden cargo boats that
have criss-crossed the Gulf for centuries.
The island has an abundance of wildlife, including birds, reptiles, dolphins and turtles.
Local communities are heavily involved in projects to protect the environment, and there
is some disquiet about the effect that the country's first heavy oil refinery, currently being
constructed on the island's southern coast, might have on the hitherto pristine natural
landscape. Construction of the refinery is scheduled for completion in 2013.