Iran - Andrew Burke [244]
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. Its role remained peripheral until the Iran–Iraq War, when Iran’s established ports at Bushehr, Bandar-e Imam Khomeini and Khorramshahr 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.
Orientation
Bandar Abbas is stretched along a narrow coastal strip. The main east–west thoroughfare changes its name from Beheshti Blvd (in the eastern suburbs) to Imam Khomeini St (through the centre of town), ending as Pasdaran Blvd (towards the docks to the west). The city is well signposted in English. Apart from the top-end options, most accommodation is on or just off Imam Khomeini St, between Velayat Sq and Abuzar Sq – all within an easy walk of the bazaar, the old quarter to the north and the boats to Hormoz and Qeshm. The airport is about 8km east of the bazaar.
Information
Imam Khomeini St has several internet cafés, and the arcade in the Setareh-e Jonub Shopping Centre, on the seafront Taleqani Blvd, has several more. The bazaar has a black market in UAE dirhams and other Gulf State currencies.
Bala Parvaz Travel Agency ( 222 4500; moridiprz@yahoo.com; Imam Khomeini St; 7am-8.30pm Sat-Thu, 8am-1pm Fri) Don’t go anywhere else. Helpful, English-speaking staff – especially the delightful Ms Marjan Naemi – book air, train and ferry tickets.
Bank Melli (17 Shahrivar Sq) The only bank to change money officially, and only between 10am and 12.30pm. It’s a nightmare at lunchtime.
Emergency Clinic ( 553 1001; cnr Jomhuri-ye Eslami Blvd & Amir Kabir St)
Immigration police office ( 218 2620; Modarres St) Visa extensions are possible, if not encouraged at this office. The officers here don’t see too many tourists, and didn’t exactly welcome us with open arms, so choosing another city is a good idea. Click here for details on extending your visa.
International telephone office ( 224 8350; Mahan Alley; 7am-10pm winter, 8am-1pm & 4-10pm summer) Down an alley about 30m east of 17 Shahrivar Sq.
Main post office (Shahrivar St) About 50m north of 17 Shahrivar Sq.
Morvarid Money Exchange ( 222 7446; Imam Khomeini St; 7.30am-1pm & 4.30-8.30pm Sat-Thu) Much, much easier than changing money at Bank Melli. Good rates and no hassle. In an arcade just west of 17 Shahrivar Sq.
Police headquarters ( 222 7676; 17 Shahrivar Sq)
Sights
Bandar isn’t blessed with a lot of must-see sights – actually, none – but it’s not totally devoid of flavour. The lively bazaar (Taleqani Blvd) rambles its way across two blocks just back from the seafront, and is probably the most colourful part of town. A seafront promenade leads east and has an evening flea market. At its end, the busy fish market is full of charismatic old salts happy to pose for pictures with their catch. Work on the huge mosque a few metres east of the bazaar seems to have restarted despite local concerns that the engineering is not good enough for a major earthquake zone. If it is ever finished it will have one of the tallest iwans (rectangular hall opening onto a courtyard) in Iran.
If you fancy just wandering about, walk north from downtown to the older part of town, which has more of a Bandari feel with its old buildings and narrow lanes.
Sleeping
Accommodation in Bandar isn’t the best value in Iran, and for the third trip in a row we found bargaining here about as effective as looking for a stiff drink in a mosque. Most