Portugal controlled the Strait of Hormuz during the 16th century, a period when it established various territorial possessions in that strategic region of the Middle East.
The Gulbenkian Foundation was the entity responsible for financing the recovery project of the Portuguese fortress of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, situated in that region.
The fortress had been abandoned for more than 500 years, a result of the long period since Portugal lost control of that area.
The political and military instability that characterized the region over the centuries had never permitted the rehabilitation of the monument until the Gulbenkian intervention.
