Located some 20 kilometers (12 miles) off Iran's southern coast, Kish Island is the nation's leading "free-trade zone" and a sunny haven for both businessmen and tourists.
Kish, which literally means oval, from the island's shape, is very different from the Islamic republic's mainland, looking rather to Dubai 200 kilometers (120 miles) away, as a "bigger sister". Visitors from all over the world, including the United States, can travel to Kish without a visa, the only exception being Israelis, arch-foes of the Iranian people and government.
Kish international airport has 40 flights a day to Tehran, as well as six or seven for Dubai and Manama. Unlike the somewhat chaotic mainland, everything is orderly on the sunny little island, and visibly wealthier, with luxurious Japanese cars replacing the humble Paykan which is ubiquitous elsewhere in Iran.
Drivers who accidentally run over one of the island's deer are obliged to pay a cash fine of $1,000 -- more than many Iranians on the mainland earn in a year. The native population is only some 5,000 strong, including descendants of former slaves of the Portuguese taken in Africa, who traditionally live by fishing.
"Our slogan is that people should live peacefully so that investments are guaranteed," said Hossein Qassemi, head of the free trade zone organization and a close ally of moderate President Mohammad Khatami. "We are open to all investments, (and) we have no problems vis-a-vis the Americans," he said.
However Iran has no diplomatic relations with the United States and is under a unilateral US embargo, so that US businessmen are usually associated with other joint enterprises. And although officials like to boast of the many foreign companies and investments made on the island, no precise figures are available.
"We have invested in Kish. But it is still a gamble," explained a shipper who refused to give his name or details of the nature of his investments. About a dozen foreign banks are "interested," while oil giants Total-Fina-Elf of France, which operates the giant South Pars gas field, and Anglo-Dutch Shell, are already present on the isle, Qassemi said.
At the island's little port, hundreds of Pakistani and Iranian workers can be seen unloading containers from ships. Nearly all contain domestic electric and electronic appliances. Shopping centers similar to those found in the West are numerous and prices are 30 percent lower than on the mainland. But paradoxically only wealthy Iranians can afford to take advantage of them, as the airplane ticket to the island from Tehran costs $100.
The Iranian government has invested heavily in the island's infrastructure in a massive drive to attract visitors and provide them with all kinds of services and facilities.
Even the tight Islamic restrictions which apply to those living on the mainland appear to have been loosened in order to create a freer Western-style ambiance. Young women can been seen without the compulsory long coat or cloak, strolling the streets in short-sleeved shirts, jeans, and a small headscarf as a concession to traditional Islamic values.
The island is also looking to become a major tourism center, with some 50 hotels, 15 of them luxury-class. The Dariush hotel, currently under construction, aims to be the leader in the Middle East with some 200 luxury suites. Thousands of palm trees enhance the scenery, while foreigners can use a mixed "family beach", while Iranian men and women still have to bathe separately.
To top it all, some foreigners have even raised the possibility of opening a casino on a Greek passenger ship stranded off the island since July 1966. The idea of roulette and blackjack games in Iran, which strictly forbids gambling under its Islamic code, seems inconceivable -- for the moment. — (AFP, Kish Island)
by Jean-Michel Cadiot
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
