Topic: Bandar Abbas

Bandar-Abbas (Persian: بندرعباس) or Bandar-e ‘Abbās (in Persian: بندر عباس; formerly known as Gombroon to English traders and Gamrun to Dutch merchants) is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Straits of Hormuz, and it is the location of the main base of the Iranian Navy. Bandar Abbas is the capital and also largest city of the province Hormozgān.It had an estimated population of 352,173 in 2005.

Bandar Abbas has always been a port, and as such its various names have all addressed this function. The most common name over time (Gameroon) has traditionally been said to derive from Persian gümrük, customhouse (from Late Greek kommerkion, from Latin commercium, "commerce"), but is now speculated to be from Persian kamrūn, shrimp (which in Portuguese is camarão, similar to the former Portuguese name).

The earliest record of Bandar Abbas is during the reign of Darius the Great (between 586 and 522 B.C.). Darius's commander, Silacus, embarked from Bandar Abbas to India and the Red Sea