How to get to the Mars branch on Earth: Hormuz Island, where the sea and the coast are red
How to get to the Mars branch on Earth: Hormuz Island, where the sea and the coast are red

Video: How to get to the Mars branch on Earth: Hormuz Island, where the sea and the coast are red

Video: How to get to the Mars branch on Earth: Hormuz Island, where the sea and the coast are red
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The first sensation that arises for everyone who has seen this extremely arid and extremely bright island in the center of Iran is one: you are on another planet. Houses of all colors and shades, Iranian hippies scurrying through the streets, local women in clothes unusually bright for ordinary Iranians (a multi-colored dress and no less colorful patterned veil) are, of course, unusual. But the most shocking feature of Hormuz is its multi-colored sand, for which the island was nicknamed Rainbow Island throughout the world. It is also called a branch of Mars …

The mysterious island is somewhat reminiscent of another planet
The mysterious island is somewhat reminiscent of another planet
And in the residential part of the island, everything is very bright
And in the residential part of the island, everything is very bright

Hormuz covers 42 square kilometers, and he is located eight kilometers from the mainland. But, despite its isolation, it is incredibly attractive and people come here from all over the world. The coastal sand shines like metal. It, like stones, shimmers in different colors, for which Hormuz is considered the best place for geotourism on Earth. It is especially beautiful in the so-called Rainbow Valley.

Valley of the rainbow
Valley of the rainbow
The sand and soil on the island have an incredibly diverse range of colors
The sand and soil on the island have an incredibly diverse range of colors
Rainbow island
Rainbow island

Hormuz (Hormoz) is considered a unique mineralogical reservoir due to the incredible variety of rocks and minerals found in this small area. In the language of geologists, the island located in the Strait of Hormuz is a spherical salt dome, which consists of evaporites, igneous rocks and sedimentary rocks, as well as bottom sediments, including salt, gypsum and limestone evaporites. Sedimentary rocks often contain minerals such as pyrite, dolomite, quartz, anhydrite, gypsum, and halite.

Pink road
Pink road
Rocks, as if on a fantastic planet
Rocks, as if on a fantastic planet

In addition to significant mineralogical attractions, the island has other beauties such as ocher mines, coral reefs, rocks, sea and salt caves, as well as unique vegetation and wildlife.

The beauty of the coast
The beauty of the coast
Salt cave
Salt cave
Incredible landscape
Incredible landscape

Another feature of Hormuz is the diversity of the coastal area: there are golden sandy beaches in the north, and an area with beautiful cliffs in the south. And on the so-called Red Coast, the concentration of iron is so high that both sand and water are actually colored bright red. It seems that the waves and the beach are bleeding, and it is both beautiful and strange and creepy at the same time.

Red waves seem to bleed
Red waves seem to bleed
Red coast
Red coast
The land in this area is naturally red
The land in this area is naturally red

Local artists also make amazing carpets from the colorful sand on the coast. The island seems to be specially painted by someone - for fun. And even from space, it looks like a vivid picture.

This is how the island looks from space
This is how the island looks from space
Sand paintings are made on the island
Sand paintings are made on the island
Nature paints. /arasbaran.org
Nature paints. /arasbaran.org

Hormuz was once a bustling trade center. During the Sassanid era (224 -651 AD), the island was conquered by the Persians, for some time it was ruled by the Mongols, the Portuguese, and at the beginning of the 17th century the Persian Shah Abbas began to own it. However, this island was of little interest to him - the ruler made another city his main port. Currently, Hormuz is a sparsely populated island, most of which is deserted. And its main "population" is tourists.

An island in a 16th century drawing
An island in a 16th century drawing

By the way, it is incredibly hot here in the midday summer. Not every tourist can withstand temperatures of 42-43 ° C, so regulars love to come here in winter when the heat subsides.

Tourists
Tourists

Sand castles are not the only thing that can be made from sand. Iranian craftsmen, for example, used this material to create a huge multi-colored carpet on the shores of the Persian Gulf. So it appeared the largest sand carpet.

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