Majara Residence (Persian: ماجرا meaning adventure) is a seaside accommodation complex in the island of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, South of Iran. The building consists of 200 colorful domes of varying sizes and shapes built with the participation of the local population of the island, using the Superadobe sandbag technique. The domes, some of them interconnected, contain both accommodation (17 suites hosting up to 85 guests) and public facilities such as restaurants and cafes. Majara, as the first major eco-touristic hotel on the island, was completed in 2020. It is designed by the Tehran-based architectural firm ZAV Architects and since its completion, it has been recognized internationally with several awards.
Hormuz used to be the name of a historic port in mainland Iran before circa 1300, located on important trade routes, whose ruler moved it to the Island of Hormuz, 8 kilometers off the mainland,[1] to found the new port of Hormuz out of the reach of robbers. Once again, it became a thriving trade center in the region.[2] Its decline started with the Portuguese occupation of the island circa 1500. Later taken back by Iran's Shah Abbas, it never reached the success of the past.[3] Today it is inhabited by around 6000 people[4] whose main occupation is fishing.[5] Most of the island is arid and uninhabited and the economy is fragile.[6][7] In the media, the name of the island is strongly connected to the strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil transit chokepoint that is often a site of tension between the Iranian government and the Western powers.[8]
Tourism development in recent yearsAccording to research, ecological, geographical, and cultural resources of the Hormuz island are potentials for its development as an ecotourism and geotourism destination.[citation needed] Since 2009 through an annual land art event, tourists and nature-lovers started to rediscover the somewhat forgotten island. During this annual event called the Soil Carpet of Hormuz, in a coast 5 kilometers outside the boundaries of Hormuz city towards the west, a large area of 1300 square meters was covered with the ochre of various colors naturally existing in the island, tracing a pattern similar to that of a carpet but in a much larger scale, and therefore every year a carpet was “woven” using sand with the participation of artists and people.[9][10] Today Hormuz is one of the most visited Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf[5] despite lacking touristic infrastructure. The last Soil Carpet Event was held in 2014. Six years later in 2020, Majara residence was completed in the location of the campsite next to the soil carpet coast, with the participation of the Soil Carpet Event organizers, investors from Tehran, and the local people of Hormuz.[7][11]
Tourists buying colorful ochre souvenirs from a local street vendor in Hormuz Island, Iran
Hormuz Soil Carpet Event
view from top of domePresence in Hormuz Development Plan
Presence in Hormuz's goal is to take a sensitive approach to the impact of mass tourism, through a series of private initiatives intended to draw tourists to an island lacking touristic infrastructure in an environmentally sensitive way to support the community.[12] According to the architects, the goal of presence in Hormuz is not exactly boosting the number of visitors but to manage and monitor their presence on the island, their interaction with the local community, and their awareness of the fragile ecosystem of the island.[13] Based on their timeline, Majara Residence is the second phase of Presence in Hormuz, hence its other name Presence in Hormuz 02.[11] Other projects include Rong cultural center which opened in 2017 and Badban, a center for human-resource training and the management hub for the whole development, completed in 2021.[12][14]
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