Qeshm
Our guide through the mangroves on Qeshm: a 12-year old boy named Ahmad. He threw the shark back into the water shortly after we snapped this photo.
Click here to see a flash slideshow of selected photos from Qeshm and Minab
Qeshm is a dolphin-shaped island in the Persian Gulf. In fact, it is the largest island in the Gulf. The waters surrounding it are a beautiful, glowing blue-green, that clearly reveal the marine life below them.
Qeshm is very different from the mainland of Iran. Most of its population is Arab and Sunni. There are more tall women on the island than in other parts of Iran. Women wear brighter colors and floral patterns. Seafood is easy to find in the restaurants.
One of the best meals we’ve had in Iran was on this unassuming island. Near the ruins of a Portuguese castle is a dive that serves seafood. We ate shark with bright dill; crab with a mix of spices that we did not recognize; the most tender squid imagineable cooked in a slightly hot tomato sauce; and shrimp that tasted more Cajun than Iranian. Normally I like seafood cooked with a minimum of spices, but the cook at this ramshackle restaurant really knew how to use spices to enhance the flavor of the seafood rather than hide it.
Don’t be fooled by people telling you to eat at Bani or any other restaurant. Don’t be put off by non-existent service or the slightly dirty surroundings. Make sure to have dinner at this seafood dive (there’s only one Portuguese castle, so everyone on Qeshm can guide you there) at a plastic table by the sea.
See what others say about Qeshm:
Travel photos from Qeshm
Scroll down the page at Savvy Traveler for a story on Qeshm
Vast Crystal Blue Skies
All about caves including the salt cave on Qeshm
In Dutch from Onze Man in Teheran: Straat van Hormuz
