Hipster Bars in Hormuz
I'm in a cafe, a trendy coffee shop with real cappuccino, espresso and fresh herbal drinks. Hipsters with beards, hippies in flowery dresses, youngsters with guitars on the back and outdoor types. All not that odd, but the location of the place is. I'm on the Iranian island of Hormuz, located in the blistering heat of the Persian Gulf.
Hallucinating Landscapes
Once an important island, because of its strategic location. Those who owned the island controlled access to the Persian Gulf. The Portuguese fort is a silent witness to this past. It is also purely the strategic location why they settled here. It is not very pleasant. It is as if debris from the moon or march has fallen into the sea. A large part of the year the temperature here is well above 40 degrees, there is hardly any shade, especially something of trees or grass not at all.
But the nature of this small island is beautiful. At least if you are open to the whims of Mother Nature. The island is a geological miracle, consisting of lunar landscapes in the most diverse shapes and colours. You can visit salt mountains and salt caves full of imposing crystals. Look out from impressive cliffs over deserted beaches and the Persian Gulf. Visit valleys with jagged rock formations that take on all kinds of shapes, not surpringly named the 'Valley of Statues'. Then there's an enchanting red coloured beach, where everyone puts some of the red sand on their faces, only to walk into the beach like a group of Indians.
Highlight for lovers of these geological wonders is the 'Rainbow Valley', a wild valley that lives up to its name. Minerals and salt provide the most diverse colors, which also change according to the time of day, the year and whether or not precipitation has fallen. The latter seldom happens, but when I'm there it just happened. The rocks are less green and red, but the path where I walk is completely yellow due to loose salt crystals.
When I walk on a deserted beach, I start talking to a group of youngsters from Tehran. Do I want a joint, or do I prefer mushrooms? They camp on the beach and want to go all out for a few days. They walk in and see if they just walked in from Goa in the '70s. All Iranian they are extremely friendly. They tell how Hormuz has become a trendy destination: wild camping, partying, making music, enjoying the hallucinating landscapes and getting a little loose.
The town of Hormuz
The town of Hormuz consists of a collection of picturesque white houses. Until recently there was nowhere to spend the night. Now there are some simple homestays.In some of these guesthouses Iranian youngsters walk in and out, musical instruments on their backs: ready to go into the night while partying. The meeting point are the two trendy coffee tents, located on the boulevard that comes alive in the evening. In the cooler evening hours the Bandari, the inhabitants of this region, come out as well. Some women wear the characteristic masks worn by these Persian Arabs. Persian Arabs? Yes, the people who live here are Gulf Arabs, who in Shi'itian Iran have managed to preserve their original culture. The men wear white djellaba's, the women wear bizarre masks. This culture is best preserved on the neighboring island of Qeshm.
I end the evening on a party boat, also such a strange phenomenon in Iran. A traditional boat in front of the harbour, neon lights, live music, people clapping and dancing along enthusiastically.
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