'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From January 1863 to December 1864. (Edited by the Secretary.) Volume XVII.' [‎245] (420/524)

' have ken tk
, of course, asserts I
I infer ratkr tki
osewliicli nowkt
tbeArakontal'f!
at, finally, the Portf
s, because it m at*
THE ISLAND OF KISHM, &C. 245
naturally protected, the nearest position to the old landing place on the
mainland* which stood near the present Bunder Abbass,t and because,
thirdly, it admitted of the closest approach of vessels of tonnage, and
at all times afforded shelter on either one or the other side of the fort.
15. The description which old writers hand down to us of the
splendour of Hormuz should, I think, be accepted with considerable
care. For the period, it was doubtless a first-rate emporium, but
would at present, perhaps, be considered an ordinary oriental town.
There are no traces of any ruins of either great extent or solidity. The
most durable structures seem to have been their vaulted water-tanks,
which, of course, in a populous town wholly dependent on rain water,
were both numerous and of vital importance. The statement of Just*
amond, X that water was hawked about the streets on camels for the
convenience of passengers, shows not that the town enjoyed an addi
tional luxury, but that a necessary of life, which is elsewhere freely used,
possessed a market value in this utterly desolate island. I find it also
difficult to credit J that the thoroughfares tramped by camels were like
wise spread with carpets and linen, since such an arrangement would
not accord with the personal habits of those animals. It is more
probable that the old shops of Hormuz, like those of other eastern
towns, were shaded by strips of awnings with bits of carpets for the
transaction of business.
16. A local tradition alleges that the island of Hormuz was an
appanage of the old Persian town of Minao, situated on the mainland
on the banks of a fresh water river immediately east of Hormuz. Minao
* Immediately opposite the Hormuz fort on the mainland, and about four miles
to the eastward of the present Bunder Abbass, are the traces of a small ancient
creek, now silted up; some masonry work is still visible. It is at this spot that
goods are said to have shipped for or landed from ancient Hormuz. There are many
traces of other small creeks along the shore line, one in particular close to Bunder
Abbass, and which has silted up in the memory of man. It was probably the pre
sence of this latter creek which caused the present bunder to be placed where it is,
otherwise it would have been obviously much better placed some miles to the
westward beyond Seroor, where a spit of land and the Kishm Island give much
greater protection against the prevailing winds.
t Four miles east of Bunder Abbass.
$ extracts from Justamond and Ralph Filch, p. 30 , Government Selection
No.XXTY. of 1856.