Ashuradeh Island

Ashuradeh Island (Persian:  جزیره ی آشوراده, [Ashūradeh]) is the name of an Island in Miankaleh peninsula, located in 10 km west of Bandar Torkaman.
Some people believe that the word “Ashuradeh” means "hunting ground" or “pasture". There is also historical speculation that Ashuradeh was a place where one of the kings of the Khwarazmian )1077-1231) dynasty fled after his defeat during the Mongol invasion of Iran.
Ashuradeh is one of the most prominent wetlands in the world, with an area of 1200 meters in the past. These days, Ashuradeh covers an area of about 320 hectares and only the employments of the Iran Fisheries Organization live on the island and the local people have left it.
One of the historical landmarks in Ashuradeh is the ruins of Safavid fortresses that still remain. Ashuradeh was a royal hunting ground in the Safavid era (1501-1736). The "Russian Fortress", the "House of the Russian Minister" and the "Wooden Church" are the relics from the Russian invasion of Iran in 1837. During the Pahlavi era (1925-1979), the Russian castle was used as an outpost, many parts of which are now destroyed.
The fauna of the island includes fox, jackal, wild cat, pig, wild horse, etc. Indigenous and migratory birds such as pheasant, white and black geese, flamingo, pelican as well as aquatic animals like salmon, starry sturgeon also live in this environment. Among the vegetation of Ashuradeh, sour pomegranate trees and raspberry bushes can be named but a few.
Ashuradeh can be reached via Torkaman Island. If you want to travel and visit this marvelous attraction by your personal car, you should park and leave your car in the Bandar Torkaman and use boats to cross over the sea through Ashuradeh Island. While visiting this island, you can get a lot of pleasure from browsing the local market, the sand dunes of Ashuradeh, and watching hunting sturgeons. It is worth mentioning that about half of the starry sturgeon caviar of Iran is hunted from the shores of Ashuradeh. After returning from the Island, it is highly recommended to visit the local Bazaar in Bandar Torkaman. The best time of visiting this attraction is during spring until early fall.