Steeped in mythology and singular flora life , Socotra is arguably among the most unique place on the planet . regrettably , this island of beautiful natural landscapes has since fall on hard time after becoming entangled in the mussy polite war of Yemen , one of the globe ’s risky human-centred crises .
Socotra is locate in the Indian Ocean about 340 kilometers ( 210 miles ) off the coast of Yemen , not far from the point of Somalia at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden . It ’s technically an archipelago made up of four island , Socotra being the largest by some leeway .
The island is make out for its unequalled trove of biodiversity that let in many species not found anywhere else on major planet Earth . According toUNESCO , 37 pct of Socotra ’s 825 works species , 90 percent of its reptile species , and 95 pct of its dry land escargot mintage do not happen anywhere else in the humans .
The Bottle Tree is another unique plant endemic to the Socotra Islands.Image credit: Olga Grinblat/Shutterstock.com
One of the most iconic metal money found here is the Dragon Blood Tree , an unusual - looking tree diagram that adopt its name because it weeps blood - like red sap from its trunk .
Some believe that Cain and Abel were born in Socotra after their parents , Adam and Eve , were give up out of theGarden of Eden . grant to local folklore , the Dragon Blood Tree egress when Cain committed the world ’s first murder against his brother Abel , disgorge his blood into the grime and allow the tree to turn like a gory fertilizer .
Despite its proportional reconditeness , the far - flung island is not free from the spherical imperativeness ofclimate change . One study in 2007predictedthat the number of Dragon Blood Trees could drop by almost half within this C as a result of the aridification of the island .
The Dragon Blood Tree is known as Dam al - Akhawain in Arabic , which translate to “ the line of the two sidekick ” . Even thenameof Socotra itself is said to have derive from the Arabic “ suqs qutra ” , which stand for “ the market place of flying lizard ’s blood ” .
Owing to its raw beauty , the island is sometimes known as the " Jewel of the Gulf of Aden ” or the “ Galápagos of the Indian Ocean ” .
However , this idyllic promised land is under scourge . Socotra was historically part of Yemen , but recent years have see it go down under the influence of the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) .
In 2018 , the UAEdeployed military forcesto the island as part of the ongoing Saudi Arabian – led treatment in the Yemeni Civil War . While no blood was reportedly split , they had effectively invaded the island and established political ascendancy .
With no destruction in mess for the Yemen Crisis , Socotra is awkwardly stuck in the middle of the conflict in the lag .
Nevertheless , there is still hope . Despite the difficulty face by Socotra and its iconic Dragon Blood Tree , there are stillongoing preservation effortsthat trust to keep the island ’s profuseness for future generations .
