Just as in the days of its Portuguese discoverers, Socotra initially appears as nothing more than a dark strip between sky and sea. As you draw nearer, rugged mountains rise up, followed by snow-white dunes shaped by the summer monsoon winds, and finally a coastline dotted with turquoise bays. Then you see the dragon’s blood trees. Their crowns tower over the rocks like green umbrellas. Fantastic shapes as far as the eye can see. An island that seems not of this world.
- Name: Socotra, Yemen
- Location: North-western Indian Ocean, east of the Gulf of Aden
- Position: 12°30′ N, 54°00′ E
- Area: approximately 3,600 km²
- Largest settlement: Hadibu (population 8,500)
- Distance to the nearest mainland: approximately 130 nautical miles to Somalia in Africa
The Mystery of the Strange Shapes
The dragon’s blood tree owes its name to the red resin that oozes from its bark. Growing alongside it are desert roses with swollen stems and cucumber trees that store water. These strange silhouettes are no mere whim of nature: they help plants to survive on an island with long dry seasons. Because Socotra was cut off from the mainland for a long time, species developed here that are found nowhere else.
This is also where its second name comes from: ‘the Galápagos of the Indian Ocean’. As regards flora and fauna, according to UNESCO around 700 endemic species – that is, found only there – ranging from the Socotra pomegranate to the blue tarantula. The marine world is also part of this extraordinary habitat.
A World Heritage Site, not a fantasy land
The Socotra Archipelago has been on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List since 2008. The designation recognises not only the famous trees on the main island, but also the interplay between the islands, the coastline and the sea. That is precisely what makes Socotra so elusive: what looks like an alien planet is, in fact, a fragile part of this Earth.
Pictures of Socotra stir a longing for faraway places. They are not an invitation to go on a sailing trip. That The Federal Foreign Office has issued a travel warning for Yemen, specifically including Socotra. This is primarily due to the activities of the Houthi militias at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.
Christian Tiedt
Editor Travel
