Fin Castle

Located at km 95 of the road from Bandar Abbas to Sirjan, the city of “Fin” houses the remains of a beautiful castle on top of a high hill. Today, this castle is known as the “Fin Castle”.

The City of Fin and Its Features

Fin is located in Bandar Abbas County of Hormozgan Province and is 95 km away from Bandar Abbas City. This city has nearly four thousand inhabitants. Historians consider the history of the formation of this city to be related to the Achaemenid era (first millennium BC) and believe that this city was a part of the Pars Region in ancient times. During the Safavid era (16th century) many of the buildings of Fin were restored and the city flourished. At that time, the Portuguese, who were present in the Persian Gulf and Hormuz and Qeshm islands, were defeated by the Safavids and were forced to retreat. This victory resulted in the flourishment of Iran’s trade in the Persian Gulf, and it is thought that the historical castle of Fin was also used during this period to increase the security of caravans.

According to experts, since the name “Fin” was given to watery areas, there are several cities and regions with the name “Fin” the common feature of which is the flow of water and the prosperity of horticulture and agriculture in them. Having dense palm groves and alleys, Fin is considered to be a garden city, which is located between two high mountains named Baz (2449 m high) and Geno (2249 m high). This city was a part of Fars Province until about 100 years ago but became a part of Hormozgan Province in the year 1929 AD to be considered as one of the border cities of these two provinces. The distance between Fin and the Persian Gulf is relatively long, and for this reason, its air flowing in is hot and dry most of the year. In the second half of the year, especially from mid-autumn to the end of winter, Fin has mild weather, but at other times of the year, it is very hot.

Fin Castle, the Remains of a Valuable Monument

The flat geography of the city of Fin has caused the castle of this city, which is located on a hill, to gain an indescribable grandeur. The maximum length of the hill on which the castle is built is 290 meters and its maximum width is 180 meters. From the remains of the castle and several watchtowers around it, it can be assumed that the structure of the castle was built in an irregular polygonal shape in order to have control over all surrounding areas. Pottery items found in the castle probably belong to the Ilkhanate and Timurid eras (13th to 15th centuries AD). It is said that the castle was most probably renovated during the Safavid era (16th century AD) in order to establish security by constructing a number of watchtowers. Until a few decades ago, local khans also used the castle. Certain extensions from the recent period can be seen on the steep slope of the hill, in which metal frames and materials such as bricks can be recognized.

The castle was built for military purposes from the beginning of its establishment. In addition to the watchtowers and the special shape of the building, its location at a height confirms this view. Irregular stones are stacked with Sarooj mortar in the lower parts of the walls and towers, and there are 20 x 20 x 5 cm bricks on top of them. A wall with a length of nearly 9 meters can be seen in the northeastern part of the hill, whose height is nearly seven meters. There are some windows with gable arches in the structure of this wall. A tower with 80 cm thick walls has been built in the western part of the castle, the inner space of which has two floors. Significant parts of the building were destroyed in the earthquake that occurred in 2007. However, it is possible to distinguish a guest house and an office in this building. The castle also had a well and a large pond.

Finn Castle National Register

Fin Castle was inscribed on the list of Iran’s national heritage in the year 2007 AD.