I would say Socotra definitely has to be one of the most interesting islands in the world. In the middle of the Indian ocean at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, where the continents of Africa and Asia approach each other, lies a small archipelago consisting of four islands. This is the Socotra Archipelago. Also known as the most alien place on Earth.
Socotra Archipelago
Now as to what makes this little cluster of islands so interesting. The answer to that is everything about them.
Name
Lets begin with the name Socotra. There are two different theories about the origin of the name Socotra. The first and more common one is that the name is derived from the ancient Sanskrit language, meaning the Island of Bliss. This theory makes the origin of it’s name quite interesting as India is over a thousand miles away from Socotra.
The second theory is that the name is derived from Arabic. According to this theory Socotra means the Market of Dragon Blood.
Islands
As I mentioned before there are four different islands in the archipelago. The largest of these is the Socotra Island. The three smaller islands are Abd al Kuri, Samha and Darsa.
The islands of the archipelago.
Formation of the Island
The Island of Socotra is actually not of volcanic origin. Rather it was once a part of the continental body before breaking apart. It was once part of the Gondwana Continent before breaking apart during the Miocene epoch. That is what ended up making this island so interesting. That means that for over 5 million years, the plant and animal life on this island (once the same as the main body) evolved completely isolated from the continent under very different conditions. This resulted in the creation of some of the most interesting and bizarre plants and animals that you will ever see.
Socotra is one of the most bio diverse locations in the world. 700 species of Flora and Fauna are found only on this island.
Flora of Socotra
Over one third of the plant life found on this island is found nowhere else on the entire planet. The mix of geographical isolation and extreme climate conditions have resulted in the formation of truly alien life on this very island.
Lets begin with the plant that Socotra is known best for. The Dracaena cinnabari or more commonly known as the Dragon-Blood Tree.
Dragon Blood Tree
The reason this plant has such a cool name is because of the red sap produced by this tree. When the tree is wounded, its sap leaks out almost as if the tree itself is bleeding. A dried form of the sap was sought after in the ancient world, as people believed it to have magical properties. They believed it to be the blood of dragons. It was commonly used in ritual, alchemy and miracle potions.
As the world modernized, the resin of this tree was used for different reasons. It was used as a dye and in medicine. The Arabs, Greeks, Romans used it in medicine for various things. Even today it, the locals use the various parts of this tree for many different reasons. Some of these being medical purposes, for abortions and as a dye.
Dragon’s blood
It’s no surprise that there is an interesting origin story behind this fascinating tree. According to the story, god made a new world surrounded by a endless ocean on all sides. The new world was extremely beautiful and filled with all sorts of wonderful plants and animals. The god then made a king of this new world, the dragon. A power and frightening creature on the outside but kind, wise and calm on the inside. God left the world in the care of this dragon and returned after countless year. Only to found the world burned down and all beauty destroyed. All forms of life were extinguished save the dragon, still sleeping atop the mountain peacefully. He blamed the dragon for destroying this paradise and turned him into a tree to make it suffer. Now every time the tree is cut, the dragon bleeds. This is it’s eternal punishment.
Some of the other plants found on the island are below.
Socotra Bottle Tree
Socotra Cucumber Tree
Adenium obesum var socotranum
Persian Carpet Flower
Socotrine aloe
Fauna of Socotra
Socotra Island Blue Baboon
A lobster from Socotra
A crab in Socotra and crab houses on the beach
A bird in Socotra
Al-Hoq Cave
The island also has several caves. The largest of which is the Al-Hoq cave. This cave is almost 3 kilometers long.
The story of Dajjal
For those that do not know Dajjal is the Islamic version of the anti-Christ. Some Arabs were traveling by ship and a storm scattered their coarse. They landed on a very weird island where they met the Dajjal, still imprisoned. Many claim that this island of the anti-Christ was Socotra Island. The story is below.
He told me that he sailed in a ship with thirty men of Lakhm and Judhaam and they were tossed by the waves of the sea for a month. Then they came to an island at sunset. They sat in a small rowing-boat and landed on that island. They were met by a beast with a great deal of hair and they could not distinguish his face from his back because he was so hairy. They said: ‘Woe to you, what are you?’ It said: ‘I am al-Jassaasah.’ They said: ‘What is al-Jassaasah?’ It said: ‘O people, go to this man in the monastery for he keen to know about you.’ He (the narrator) said: When it named a man for us we were afraid of it lest it be a devil. Then we set off, rushing, until we came to that monastery, where we found the hugest man we had ever seen, bound strongly in chains with his hands tied to his neck and his legs bound from the knees to the ankles with iron shackles. We said: ‘Woe to you, who are you?’ He said: ‘You will soon find out about me; tell me who you are.’ They said: ‘We are people from Arabia who embarked on a ship, but the sea became wild and the waves tossed us about for one month, then they brought us to this island of yours. We took to the rowing-boats and landed on this island. We were met by a beast with a great deal of hair and we could not tell his front from his back because he was so hairy. We said: Woe to you, what are you? It said: I am al-Jassaasah. We said: What is al-Jassaasah? It said: Go to this man in the monastery for he is keen to know about you. So we came rushing to you and we fled from it because we could not be sure that it was not a devil.’ He (that chained person) said: ‘Tell me about the date-palm trees of Baysaan.’ We said: ‘What do you want to know about them?’ He said: ‘I am asking you whether these trees bear fruit.’ We said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Soon they will not bear fruit.’ He said: ‘Tell me about the lake of Tabariyyah’ We said: ‘What do you want to know about it?’ He said: ‘Is there water in it?’ They said: ‘There is a great deal of water in it.’ He said: ‘Soon it will dry up.’ Then he said: ‘Tell me about the spring of Zughar (which is in the south of Syria).’ They said: ‘What do you want to know about it?’ He said: ‘Is there water in the spring and do the people grow crops with the water of the spring?’ We said to him: ‘Yes, there is plenty of water in it and the people grow crops with its water.’ He said: ‘Tell me about the Prophet if the unlettered; what has he done?’ We said: ‘He has left Makkah and has settled in Yathrib (Madeenah).’ He said: ‘Do the Arabs fight against him?’ We said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘How did he deal with them?’ We told him that he had prevailed over the Arabs in his vicinity and they had shown obedience to him. He said to us: ‘Has it really happened?’ We said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘If it is so that is better for them that they show obedience to him. Now I will tell you about myself. I am the Dajjaal and soon I will be given permission to emerge. So I will come out and travel in the land, and will not spare any town but I will stay for forty nights, except Makkah and Taybah (Madeenah). They are both forbidden to me; every time I try to enter one of them, I will be met by an angel with a sword in his hand, who will bar my way, and on every route there will be angels guarding it.’
This story makes Socotra even more interesting.
The extremely diverse Socotra
Other interesting facts about Socotra
Another interesting thing to note about Socotra is that according to some locals the island converted to Christianity almost two thousand years ago by Thomas the Apostle after he was shipwrecked on the island. It only converted to Islam a few centuries ago.
This island also serves as an important stop in the international maritime trade of the ancient world. Inscriptions have been found on the island that are over a thousand years old. These inscriptions are in Indian Brahmi, South Arabian, Ethiopic, Greek, Palmyrene and Bactrian scripts and languages.
It is also believed to have been an important safe haven for escaped slaves in the past.
It should be pretty clear why Socotra is such an interesting island. An island that looks partly from the pre-historic times and partly like it is on an alien planet. The same island is believed by many to have been home to the anti-Christ.
Note: A lot of people have asked about the country that the Socotra Archipelago belongs to. Socotra is a part of Yemen, a fascinating Arab nation. Unfortunately Yemen has fallen into a civil war and is no longer safe to visit. I am not sure about Socotra.
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