Kashm Island is an island in the Persian Gulf of Iran’s Hormozgan Region.. Kashm is the largest island in Iran.. Other islands Larak, Hengam and Hormuz and Nas Islands. The length of the coastline is 313 km.. Kashm Island, a “geopark” registered by UNESCO in 2006. He earns his living mostly from fishing.. My first priority on the island is to be able to see and photograph the masked women living here, but the island is such a special geographical region that it cannot be missed.. I’m excited to see and experience it.
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How did we reach the island of Kashm?
In general, people first Crosses to Bandarabbas then Island of Kashm. There are direct buses from Shiraz to Kashm Island. There is also an airport on the Kashm Island. I would say domestic flights are pretty cheap. Buses in Iran are very comfortable. We pay only 50 divisions for vip tickets. This is the highest bus ticket we pay in Iran.
This is how our 7-8 hour journey begins.. We wake up on the ferry in the morning of the night we spent sleeping in their bed-like seats.. We are on a tiny ferry with three or five vehicles. In our weeks-long voyage of Iran, we crossed deserts, mountains, villages, cities and finally reached the sea.
At sunrise, I tried to wake up with a warm breeze hitting my face as our ferry slid across the Persian Gulf. I’m trying. people looking at us. We are strangers to them and we are different. While the smiles bloom on the faces of those who hear that we are Turkish until Shiraz, being Turkish does not make much difference here.. Not much is known.
A few women are entangled in their tents talking about us. Joking with the woman sitting next to me on the bus. Not knowing the same language is no longer a problem for me. The desert view astonishes us as we move through the island.. The islands we know become green. there will be flowers. This place is treeless and desert. A barren island you know.
Our Clashes to Be Understandable in Dargahan
Our host, whom we found on Couchsurfing, said “Get off at Dargahan”. As soon as we land, taxi drivers surround us.. We’re getting rid of it hard. On the way from the navigation to the location, when we see that the woman sitting next to me on the bus suddenly takes off her mask and puts it on her face, we become pampered.. How did we miss such an opportunity? It turned out that we had traveled for 8 hours with one of those women and we were not even aware of it.
Since the navigation did not work very well, we could not find the house, so we approached a vehicle we saw on the road and asked.. This sweet family takes us where we’re going. We don’t speak the same language again. Finally we manage to meet with Naim. As soon as we go south, all the names are different in spelling but completely turn into names we know in pronunciation.. The names we use are actually Persian, just like mine.
We leave our bags and make Naim talk to the taxi driver we arranged.. We cannot provide address information because. very early hours of the morning. Naim, who gives us his room, takes a blanket and curls up on the floor in the living room.. We are no longer surprised by this situation.. Everyone sleeps on the floor in Iran. We’ve been sleeping on the floor for 20 days now and we’re used to it.
The taxi driver comes and picks us up, but he doesn’t speak a word of English.. We can’t get along with the translator either.. The driver cannot speak any language other than Persian. I doubt it too. He’s acting like he’s dumb. Said, whom I messaged on Couchsurfing but was in Aden at the time, found this taxi driver.. When he has problems, he sends us his friends.. They’re coming to where we are. It’s good to find someone who speaks a little bit of English.. No place opens before 10 am in Iran. They are closed between two and four.
First we try to buy our plane tickets.. We plan to fly back from Bandarabbas to northern Iran.. Two days later, we pay $32 for two flights. really cheap. It is no longer advantageous to exchange Turkish lira here.. It makes more sense to exchange dollars.
Working at the Tehran consulate, who has never left us since Tehran, always helping us on the end of the phone. Şeyda becomes our savior again and arranges another English speaking vehicle. It’s $20 a day and has a driver.. There is so much to see on Kashm Island and we are too tired to do without a car.. A car is also required on Kashm Island.
Kashm Island and Camping
We see places reserved for camping on Dargahan beach on Kashm Island.. Lots of tents set up. Of course, women are not allowed to swim in the sea.. You can use the camping area here to stay.. In fact, you can camp anywhere in Iran.. One day in Tehran, when the Grand Bazaar was closed, I saw pictures of tents set up inside the bazaar.
The City of Laft
We want to go to the sea, but our guide Mesood (Mesud) takes us to the city of Laft on the way first. Water was collected in earthen jars made 600 years ago.. They call the area Golden Wells because it is valuable under water.. It has an interesting look. We want to climb a little more hills and look.
The city is on the Persian Gulf coast. We are in the Persian Gulf. We are in the Strait of Hormuz. These are all names given to the same region.. As soon as we climb up and turn our backs, we look at the sea view in front of us.. A few days ago it rained a lot and its winds remained on the island.. Enjoying the view in flight.
Then we start walking around the city. Every house has a wind tower. The higher these towers, called Bangir, were, the more wealthy the landlord was.. We wander the narrow streets. The weather is very hot. Our bodies have been stunned by the hot and cold weather for days.
There is also a port here. They were building big wooden ships called Lenje. They even sailed to the ocean with these ships.. I feel very sorry for people living in such a beautiful place and not being able to swim in this sea.
When I was leaving Laft, the slippers in front of a mosque caught my attention.. Dozens of slippers and all the same model. I think how the people who came out can distinguish which one is theirs.
Ferdi’s Beach
Keşm Our purpose for coming to Island is to see women living there. was to see, but two women in love with the sea must throw themselves into the sea first. We find ourselves in the sea after the tiredness of weeks, insomnia, the dust of the desert.. Since it is a beach, you can swim without a sea shoes.
It is of course forbidden to swim in a bikini in Iran, but Kashm Island is a free zone. For example, there is no tax.. Hijab, that is, veiling, is flexible for the tourist. We went to Ferdi’s Beach on Gazi Valley side. There are rooms to stay behind the beach. The beach is free.
When we arrived at the beach, we were like bees flying into the water.. The sun is also hot out of spite, the sea is hotter than that. The sea is very clear. Being able to swim in the sea in this season is a wonderful thing.. There are others in the sea. It’s a boy who enters in a bikini like us, but no one bothers us. I get dozens of messages after my social media post in a bikini in the sea.. And of course a phone. Şeyda says, “What did you do, Ms. Bahar?. It is forbidden to swim in this way in Iran and social media is strictly controlled.”. I am deleting the post immediately with this warning.. It’s a good thing.
We swam, sunbathed, let’s go, an uncle wearing a robe starts to come towards us. I get dressed in a hurry, but it turns out he came for something else.. Thankfully. The last thing we want is to be arrested for swimming in the sea.
As we leave the sea, we encounter men cooking fish in a barbecue.. They throw it directly into the barbecue without cleaning it.. I don’t know if it is because I am very hungry, but I am eating one of the most delicious fish I have ever eaten in my life.. his name is strange. Our driver Mesud said that it is not sold in fishermen, but we saw that it was sold later.
I am walking on the endless beach.. I collect beached seashells. they are so beautiful. They took all my shells from my bag on the way back from Africa.. We fly no routes in Iran. Nobody’s looking at my shells. I can bring them all.
Salt Cave
Our next stop on the island is Salt Cave. It was the furthest point of Kashm Island. It is also one of the longest salt caves in the world.. 6 thousand meters long, can you imagine? It amazes me to see the acacia trees I’ve seen in Africa among the desert landscapes and the various unique alien cliffs.. It turns out that they brought it from Africa seven years ago and planted it here.. When the climate was similar, they multiplied here.
There were metamorphic rocks, sedimentary rocks, volcanic stones in the region.. The world’s largest variety of stones is also found here.. This was the last thing to say for someone like me who collects the stone of the place he goes to.. We reach Salt Cave through rocks and landscapes like a desert, like another world.
Mesud brings us headlights. Red rocks and sand and salt layers what a magnificent sight. There’s red salt here. We put the lanterns on our heads and start to advance in the cave.. It’s getting darker. The soles of our feet are covered with white crystalline salt.. Asthma patients who come to this cave less frequently after 2 or 3 times in the first week get better.
It is certain that it cures crazy people like me.. It even healed my foot, which was injured from walking, when I immersed it in salt-filled water.. I’ve never seen red salt in my life. When the evening is about to come, it’s time to find a beautiful view and soak up the day and be thankful.. With the darkening weather, we are trying to reach Dargahan for a few hours somewhere in the world.
We are open.. We couldn’t eat anything during the day as we didn’t have a proper breakfast.. Mesud takes us to Golden Food Restaurant. What an amazing ambiance.. Lodges are built on a pier nailed to the sea.. You’re sitting on the ground again. You are waiting for your meal on the sea in the warm and never cold weather.. Prices are still at Iranian standards and cheap.. Tired of living with local people, my friend finally feels like a tourist and is happy. I’m happy anyway. Squids skewers are flying.
South of Iran is nothing like Iran. It’s like I came to Africa. Clothing, outfits, food, everything is changing. Hijab, that is, the fact that the veil is not too tight gives me a little relief.. Because that cover is never on my head.
We are in a Local House on Keshm Island
We are returning to our host Naim’s house on Keshm Island. It’s a small city so everybody knows everybody. Mesut drops us at Naim’s house. 5 older sisters live in a house with dozens of children and their husbands. The sisters make us “tomoshi” bread, which is unique to the Kashm Island. you are tired. We ask permission and go to sleep. Admittedly, the most difficult accommodation in terms of the smell and hygiene of the house is in this house.. I still feel bad when the smell comes to my mind. I’m glad we stayed one night.
Kharbas Caves
Masud is coming to pick us up early in the morning. He talked about getting someone else in the car the day before, but we didn’t agree.. It seems he didn’t really care about what we said that we were going to get them.. When we say we don’t want it, he gets very angry and takes us back.
We are quite nervous and angry.. His relative is arranging Mustafa. Turns out, I wrote to Moostafa (Mustafa) on couchsurfing.. did not accept us. Since he says he has guests in his house, he even has a one-month-old baby, but I think the problem here is that he can’t explain to his wife about accepting two women into his house.. Men find places easier than couchsurfing in Iran. Then when he comes to Istanbul all day, he asks if he can stay with me and we joke.. I’m still thinking.
We’re on the road again with Mustafa. Mesud’s nonsense is making us lose a few hours and our joy. Mustafa first takes us to the Kharbas Caves. There are two caves here. One is artificial and the other is natural.. We skip the artificial and head straight for the natural, but Mustafa says we have to see the artificial first.
Kashm Island, Kharbas Caves
As the natural is small, it is excavated and tunneled into the mountain. they made bigger. I guess they just wanted to get what they paid for.. On the natural side, the ground is quite dusty, slippery and steep.. The one who fell down the stairs. Clinging to a rope, we need to pull ourselves up and down.. The view from above is beautiful.
Stars Valley- Yıldızlar Vadisi
We pay 2 Divisions per person for Stars Valley.. A place like our Cappadocia. Out of this world with its light-coloured earth floor and rocks. We’re climbing the hills. We hear about demons living here at night. There are numbers all over the place. We follow them. It already takes you to the starting and ending points.
There is such a wind that I think I will fly down while taking pictures on the top of the rocks.. I’m resisting the wind with my heart in my mouth. It’s amazing to learn that water, wind and sand made these formations.. I bow to the power of nature once again with respect.. There was another Region like Stars Valley on Kashm Island.. There were such formations in the region they call Status Valley.. We did not go to this place, which consists of formations resembling a camel shape, as in our Cappadocia.. After a while, the same things can become ordinary when they repeat each other.. Maybe you want to add it to your list.
There is a gift shop by the exit door.. We get things from the women over there. Not very expensive. They also sell masks of Kashm women, whose photos we are dying to take.. First time I touch and see what you look like. I wear it on my face and look at the world through that mask. Where are these women, where are they?
While going somewhere on the road, Mustafa says look what will happen now. He takes his foot off the gas when going uphill, but the car keeps going.. What they call a gravitational anomaly also happened on this island.. The same thing happens in Turkey.
Naz Island
When we arrive at Naz Island beach, it’s lunch time and Mustafa left us on Friday. going to prayer. The weather is very hot. The top of the beach is like a fairground. They went down to the seaside with cars.. A lot of people are walking around us on camels.. Women are trying to henna on our hands. We see people walking in the sea with their clothes on.
It was not good for me to wear shalwar.. I’m pulling as far as I can, but the weather is too windy, the sea is choppy. Getting wet after a while doesn’t matter.. We are walking with a lot of people towards the island with the broken water.. I can’t explain how it feels like medicine in this hot weather.
While the rest of the world is freezing, it is inexplicable that we are overwhelmed by the heat and leave ourselves to the warm waters of the Strait of Hormuz.. We arrive at the island, playing with the waves, turned into wet rats.. I thought I was a photo maniac. People take pictures like crazy.
The island is tiny.. There are abandoned barracks. There is a small cove in the secluded and the island ends. This one hour sea break relaxes our tense nerves like cotton.. It cools us down, overwhelmed by the heat. We are removing the Hengam Island, famous for its dolphins, from the route due to the wind. “It’s hard to see dolphins in this weather,” says Mustafa.. When we are hungry, Mustafa takes us to Huseyni Restaurant.
We try shark with Mustafa’s suggestion, but we don’t like it very much.. They crushed the fish and roasted it with spices.. Of course, it is served with a pot of rice per person. My feet didn’t touch the ground as I walked on the dusty roads of the flour.. After walking for about fifteen minutes, we came to a canyon with its unique rock structure.. There’s something like a water well here. Thanks to its steep walls, it is easy to conserve water here.
As I started to move between a meter wide rocks, inside a crack in the earth, I thought why this made me so happy.. I don’t have an answer, but the miracles and magnificent images of nature that always surprise me are good for my soul.. It always heals me.
Kashm Island, Chackkooh
I still feel the same when they show me a photo of a parking lot, saying why don’t you go to Europe years ago, look how beautiful it is.. When I travel to Europe, I know that I will wander around the nature next to its historical places.
While we are returning from Chachkooh, tired but happy, a man draws our attention.. crouching looking around. What’s strange about this?. nothing. Our buggy’s teeth attract our attention.. It hurts my heart when I think of the pain and pain he suffered as a person who has undergone dental treatment for two years.. When we talk about him, Mustafa says that he comes and sits there every day, that he is a madman.. I am very sorry. I wish we could do something for him.
Hara Forest
We arrive at Hara Forest, where Şeyda said that you should definitely sink the day, at full speed, close to the end of the day.. This is the wettest and wooded area of the Kashm Island. a common sight for us. Think about the green of our country. Especially after spending 1 month in the Black Sea.
But for Keşm Island it is a blessing, a green valley, a oasis. I dip my feet in the water and watch the sinking day, boats going this way and that on the sea.. In this season, my hair blowing in the warm breeze and the slowly darkening air also relieve the tiredness of the day. Mustafa is praying again. We are waiting for him again but I have no complaints. I am happy and peaceful.
We are at the friend of Said’s friend who came to help us, who was in Aden but I had corresponded with on couchsurfing earlier in the evening.. So we’re going to a man’s house we never knew. When Said said to his friend, “I’m married, no” comes to mind, with a huge surprise on his face.. Said forgot to tell him.
Then his single friend Hasan gets a message that we can stay at his house during the day.. Hasan is leaving the house to us.. He brought us food when he returned.. In the evening, he leaves the house to us again.. He calls us a taxi around 6 in the morning and our efforts to leave the Island of Kashm begin.. The storm, which has followed us since we arrived, is again in the lead role.
We are trying to cross from Kashm Island to Bandarabbas. First we go to the small pier close to Dargahan. If you can’t get through the wind there, the taxi driver pays 50 divisions for 20 divisions to go to the other pier.. Although we try to bargain a little, we accept our hands as prisoners.. Ferry is the ferry that we passed by bus. What a place to sit. What a place to be sheltered from the wind. We give 5 divisions for two people and we manage to get off the island.
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