Bushehr
The capital of the Bushehr province, also known as Bandar-e Bushehr. The city is situated on an extensive plain along the Persian Gulf coastal region in southwestern Iran. The city is located near the ancient Sassanid port city, Rishahr. It was the main maritime port of the country and the administrative center of its province. It is about 1,218 kilometers south of Tehran. Bushehr has been the main commercial center of Iran for centuries.
The structures of the city are traditional in style, modest and adapted to the hot climate of the city. Despite tradition, today most Iranian cities are modernizing and adapting to the market. Just consider the high rate of urbanization, over 70%, that has emerged in Iran since the country’s development years after the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).
Bushehr Bazaar
One of the city’s attractions, located in the Dehdashti district, in the old part of the city. Dating back to the Qajar era, this bazaar was one of the most beautiful and busiest places in Bushehr where a wide variety of various local products were sold and bought, as well as those exported to the Persian Gulf countries.
The Bushehr Bazaar, based on the architectural principles of the Qajar period, has 250 shops. This market has been rebuilt in recent years. The market structure is designed to protect buyers from the sun in the summer and the rain in the winter. The main part of the market is oriented from south to north and the other parts from east to west. The bazaar has two other markets: Moein ol-Tojjar and Raeis ol-Tojjar, and many other shops. At different times of the year, especially during religious holidays, various festivals are held in the bazaar.
Malek Mansion
Dating from the late Qajar era, it is considered one of the most magnificent buildings of its time. The mansion belonged to a businessman named Mohammad Malek ol-Tojjar who, due to his relations with national and foreign merchants, and due to his economic status, built it and later the mansion became one of the historical attractions of the city. Malek house was built by French architects on an area of 4,000 square meters.
Later, with the British invasion of southern Iran, the house was occupied by the British and for a long time it was their military district. After a few years, Malek ol-Toljar went bankrupt and the British bought the house’s exquisite objects cheaply and brought them to England. Later, during Reza Shah’s reign, this building was rebuilt. The main building is the most important part of this palace, on 2 floors, and the paintings on the walls attract attention.
Siraf Harbor
Siraf is one of the most beautiful port cities in Iran, whose historical past has always been the center of attention by researchers and historians. Siraf’s geostrategic position and its importance in business transactions in the past have been truly considerable. The ancient city of Siraf has a unique architecture that can hardly be found in some towns in the Kurdistan province of Iran, such as Palangan. Siraf was an international port where many people of different religions and origins lived together, and the ruins of a cemetery demonstrate this. Unfortunately, this great civilization was ruined by a catastrophic earthquake, but there are still many natural and historical monuments such as Dakhmeh and Sheikh Jabar Nasuri, buildings that make the port of Siraf an ideal destination for many visitors.
Persian Gulf Coast
The coast of the Bushehr province is of two types: sandy and rocky. As the rock is limestone and due to the erosion of salt water, it leaves beautiful natural footprints. On the other hand, the sandy coasts offer recreational areas for water sports. Bushehr, being close to the cities of Abadan, Bandar Abbas and Shiraz, as well as other Persian Gulf countries such as Kuwait and Bahrain, attracts many visitors during the winter season.
Qebleh Doa Ceremony
It is a ritual that takes place during the drought and consists of the villagers choosing a person and calling him Galin. Galin then wears shepherd’s clothes, with a beard made of sheep’s wool and a straw hat with two horns, and also wears a bell around his neck. Then, together with the villagers, he goes from house to house and in each house he receives wheat, barley or some eggs. In the end, Galin divides what he has acquired into small pieces and adds a small sandbag to one of them. Then this collection is distributed and the one who receives the coin hidden in the sack containing sand runs off, causing the others to run after him to hit him. Finally he finds shelter in one of the houses and the family begs the others not to throw him out for 3 to 7 days and that during that time the rains will come. If not, it is Galin who must be beaten. People believe that by performing this ritual, God will take pity on them and it will rain.
Salt Mountain of Jashak
It is situated in the northern part of the 1,350-kilometer-high Mount Jashak, at the southern end of Mount Zagros, in Bushehr province. This salt dome is twelve kilometers long, four and a half kilometers wide, covers an area of about 3650 hectares and is considered the characteristic mountain of the dome, which is created by the dissolution of the salt deposits around the side east of this dome. Although they are not true glaciers due to the high temperatures of southern Iran, they can be compared to them. There are also beautiful waterfalls of salt water that are born in the salt mountain of Jashak. The waterfalls that naturally flow along the dome appear when the water vaporizes in hot, dry weather. This phenomenon goes from mid-spring to summer and even into early fall. Salt caves are another feature of the dome, which are created by dissolving the salt deposits around the dome. Inside these caves you can see beautiful stalagmites and stalactites in the form of salt crystals.
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