Ghale Portoghaliha

Some 750m north of the harbour is the famous Portuguese sea fort, probably the most impressive and ambitious colonial for-tress 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 haunt-ing beauty. From the port, walk along the waterfront until you reach the fort’s walls, then continue to walk with them on your left.

The archway opens onto a wide court-yard facing the sea. On the right as you en-ter is the ancient armoury. In the middle of the courtyard is a subterranean church that has some splendid vaulted ceilings. Before following the path marked by stones up onto the ramparts, you can visit the ground-floor room of the watchtower if the door is open. Higher up is another door to the submerged ‘water supply’, a surprising-ly deep and impressive cistern encircled by an elevated interior walkway. The crum-bling upper levels of the castle offer fine views back over the village to the starkly beautiful mountains, all surrounded by the blue gulf waters; it’s a nice spot to sit, soak up the silence and let your mind wander back a few hundred years.