Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
as far away as India and Africa. Visitors to Hormoz described it as heavily fortified, bust-
ling and opulent. European traders arrived and before long the Portuguese took over (see
the boxed text, Click here ) .
The Portuguese were eventually kicked out in the early 17th century and Shah Abbas I
relocated the trading hub to the mainland fishing village of Gamerun, which he promptly
named after himself (now Bandar Abbas). Without commerce the power of Hormoz was
shattered and its people reverted to a traditional fishing lifestyle. These days the fishing
industry on the island has collapsed, and the local economy has been crippled as a result.
Sights
Ghal'e-ye Portoghalihaاهیلاغترپ هعلق
Some 750m to the north of the harbour is the famous Portuguese Sea Fort , probably the
most impressive and ambitious colonial fortress built in Iran. Centuries of neglect have
seen much of the original structure crumble into the sea, but the thick, muscular-looking
walls and rusting cannons give it a haunting beauty.
From the port, walk along the waterfront until you reach the fort's walls then continue
to walk with them to your left. When they stop, turn left and walk past a row of aban-
doned ship-building structures until you come to the castle entrance on the tip of the cape.
FORTRESS
THE PORTUGUESE ON HORMOZ
In 1507 talented Portuguese admiral and empire builder Afonso de Albuquerque (also known as Afonso the Great)
besieged and conquered Hormoz as part of his plan to expand Portuguese power into Asia. The sea fortress of Hor-
moz, which he ordered built in the same year, was completed in 1515.
With Hormoz Island as their fortified base, the Portuguese quickly became the major power on the waters of the
Persian Gulf. Virtually all trade with India, the Far East, Muscat (Oman) and the Gulf ports was funnelled through
Hormoz, to which the Portuguese, under an administration known for its justice and religious tolerance, brought
great prosperity for over a century.
But Portugal's stranglehold over vital international trading routes could hardly fail to arouse the resentment of
Persia and the other rising imperial powers. In 1550 Ottoman forces besieged the fortress of Hormoz for a month
but failed to take the island. In the early 1600s Shah Abbas I granted the British East India Company trading rights
with Persia through the mainland port of Jask, thus breaking the Portuguese monopoly. In 1622 the shah, who had
no naval power with which to challenge the Portuguese, cunningly detained the company's silk purchase until the
English agreed to send a force to help liberate Hormoz. The Portuguese put up a brave defence, but ultimately were
forced off the island.
 
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