Saturday, December 20, 2008

Dragon Blood's Tree

Legend has it that the tree sprung up from congealed blood shed by a dragon and an elephant as they fought to death. Cinnabar, the crimson red resin from the tree's leaves and bark, was highly prized in the ancient world. It was used as a pigment in paint, for treating dysentery and burns, fastening loose teeth, enhancing the colour of precious stones and staining glass, marble and the wood for Italian violins. Although it no longer has a commercial value, cinnabar is an important resource for the 40 000 people who live in Socotra. They use it to cure stomach problems, dye wool, glue pottery, freshen breath, decorate pottery and houses and even as lipstick.
The only place in the world to see the Dragon Blood's Tree is Socotra and it's been a while that I've been considering a trip to the Island. Socotra is a natural wonder in itself. There are rare species of fauna and flora, I'm more interested in the flora, as for the fauna it constitutes mostly huge spiders (urgh)!!! Here's a list just for your reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spiders_of_Socotra
Since I'm not planning to see them outside of their pictures, I started checking possibilities...
There is only two weekly flights to Socotra, one return flight on Friday from Sana'a and one return flight on Monday from Eden, it's just better to take a whole week to visit Sana'a, Eden and Socotra...
Socotra had many visitors throughout time, the Portuguese arrived in 1507 but left after 4 years because the population of Socotra is what we nowadays call - tough cookies... Some believe that Alexander the Great had great interest in this island not because of it's strategic location but mostly because of its natural resources - the Aloe Vera, which he used to treat their battle wounded.
In Socotra it's easy to arrange for a 4x4 car and driver and the accommodation available is usually in tourist camps. (Omm Seti tried the spells of the pyramids and she claims they work, I'll make sure to use them to scare away the spiders around my tent...)
Ohhh it's important to note than Socotra is spelled Suqutra in Arabic and the 'q' is guttural, so expect to hear people say it as if they're doing some sort of juggling with their throats! The name Socotra is not originally Arabic, it is believed that it came from the Sanskrit 'dvipa sakhadara', which can be translated as 'Island of Bliss'.
Socotra is one of the 7 New Natural Wonders of the World and a Unesco Heritage Site. For more information you can log on to:
http://www.socotraisland.org/

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