For visitors to a medieval sea fort on Hormuz Island it is not hard to vividly imagine the hustle and bustle of Portuguese military forces who once occupied the southern Iranian island in the early 16th and early 17th centuries.

A mostly barren and hilly island, Hormuz is situated some eight kilometers off the coast on the Strait of Hormuz.

The island remained occupied by the Portuguese from 1514 to 1622 when it was recaptured by joint Anglo-Persian forces.

Thick and muscular-looking walls, chambers and archways as well as sets of rusting cannons scatter across a courtyard still give the area a scenic beauty due to the fact that much of the original structure has crumbled into the sea over the past centuries.

A subterranean church featuring vaulted ceilings, a watchtower, and a submerged cistern are amongst other attractions of the site. 

Crumbling upper levels of site also offers wonderful views of the island, its villages and its rugged mountains all surrounded by the blue waters of the Persian Gulf.

Probably the most impressive and ambitious colonial fortress built in Iran, the property is where visitors can soak up the silence and let their mind wander back a few hundred years.

AFM/MQ/MG