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Socotra (/səˈkoʊtrə, soʊ-, ˈsɒkətrə/; Arabic: سُقُطْرَىٰ Suquṭrā) or Saqatri (Soqotri: ساقطْري Saqaṭri) is an island in the Indian Ocean part of Yemen.[1][2] Lying between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea and near major shipping routes, Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago, which since 2013 constitutes one of Yemen's governorates.
 Landsat view of Socotra | |
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  Socotra Location within Yemen  Socotra Location within the Horn of Africa near Western Asia | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea |
| Coordinates | 12°30′36″N 53°55′12″E |
| Archipelago | Socotra |
| Area | 3,796 km2 (1,466 sq mi) |
| Length | 132 km (82 mi) |
| Width | 50 km (31 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,503 m (4931 ft) |
| Highest point | Mashanig, Hajhir Mountains |
| Administration | |
| Region |  Hadhramaut |
| Governorate | Socotra Archipelago |
| Districts | Hadibu (east) Qulansiyah wa 'Abd-al-Kūrī (west) |
| Capital and largest city | Hadibu (pop. 8,545) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 60,000 |
| Pop. density | 11.3/km2 (29.3/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | predominantly Soqotris; minority Yemenis, Hadharem, and Mehris |
The island comprises around 95% of the landmass of the Socotra archipelago. It lies 380 kilometres (205 nautical miles) south of the Arabian Peninsula and 240 km (130 nmi) east of Somalia, making it geographically a part of Africa.[3] Socotra is home to a high number of endemic species. Up to a third of its plant life is endemic. Due to the island's unusual geography, it has been described as "the most alien-looking place on Earth".[4] The island measures 132 km (82 mi) in length and 42 km (26 mi) across at its widest.[5] In 2008, Socotra was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[6]
The island is under the de facto control of the Southern Transitional Council, a United Arab Emirates-backed, pro-Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), "secessionist" faction in Yemen's ongoing civil war.[7]
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Scholars' views vary regarding the origin of the name of the island. The name Socotra may derive from:
- A Greek name that is derived from the name of a South Arabian tribe mentioned in Sabaic and Ḥaḑramitic inscriptions as Dhū-Śakūrid (S³krd).[8]
- The Arabian terms suq, market, and qutra, a vulgar form of qatir, which refers to dragon's blood.[9]
There was initially an Oldowan lithic culture in Socotra. Oldowan stone tools were found in the area around Hadibo in 2008.[10] Socotra played an important role in the ancient international trade and appears as Dioskouridou (Διοσκουρίδου νῆσος), meaning "the island of the Dioscuri" in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a first-century CE Greek navigation aid.[11]
The Hoq Cave contains a large number of inscriptions, drawings and archaeological objects. Further investigation showed that these had been left by sailors who visited the island between the first century BCE and the sixth century CE. The texts are written in the Indian Brāhmī, South Arabian, Ethiopic, Greek, Palmyrene and Bactrian languages. This corpus of nearly 250 texts and drawings constitutes one of the main sources for the investigation of Indian Ocean trade networks in that time period.[12]
In 880, an Aksumite expeditionary force conquered the island, and an Oriental Orthodox bishop was consecrated. The Ethiopians were later dislodged by a large armada sent by Imam Al-Salt bin Malik of Oman.[13] According to the Persian geographer Ibn al-Mujawir, who testifies having arrived in Socotra from India in 1222, there were two groups of people on the island, the indigenous mountain dwellers and the foreign coastal dwellers. There were large settlements of Indian traders from Sindh and Balochistan.[14]
In 1507, a Portuguese fleet commanded by Tristão da Cunha with Afonso de Albuquerque landed at Suq and captured the port after a stiff battle against the Mahra Sultanate. Their objective was to set a base in a strategic place on the route to India. The lack of a proper harbor and the infertility of the land led to famine and sickness in the garrison, and the Portuguese abandoned the island in 1511.[16] The Mahra sultans took back control of the island, and the inhabitants were converted to Islam.[17]
In 1834, the East India Company stationed a garrison on Socotra, in the expectation that the Mahra sultan of Qishn and Socotra would accept an offer to sell the island. The lack of good anchorages proved to be as much a problem for the British as the Portuguese. The sultan refused to sell, and the British left in 1835. After the capture of Aden by the British in 1839, they lost interest in acquiring Socotra. In 1886, the British government decided to conclude a protectorate treaty with the sultan in which he promised this time to "refrain from entering into any correspondence, agreement, or treaty with any foreign nation or power, except with the knowledge and sanction of the British Government".[18] In October 1967, in the wake of the departure of the British from Aden and southern Arabia, the Mahra Sultanate was abolished.
On 30 November of the same year, Socotra became part of South Yemen. Between 1976 and 1979, the island served as a base for the Soviet Navy.[19][20] Although the South Yemeni government and president, Ali Nasir Muhammad, had denied their existence.[21]
Since Yemeni unification in 1990, Socotra has been a part of the Republic of Yemen, affiliated first to Aden Governorate. Then in 2004, it was moved to be a part of the Hadhramaut Governorate. Later in 2013, it became a governorate of its own.
Socotra was ravaged by the 26 December 2004 tsunami causing a child's death and the wreckage of 40 fishing boats although the island is 4,600 km (2,858 mi) away from tsunami epicentre off the west coast of Aceh, Indonesia.[22] In 2015, the cyclones Chapala and Megh struck the island, causing severe damage to its infrastructure.[23]
Beginning in 2015, the UAE began increasing its presence on Socotra, first with humanitarian aid in the wake of tropical cyclones Chapala and Megh, and eventually establishing a military presence on the island. On April 30, 2018, the UAE, as part of the ongoing Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen, landed troops on the island and took control of Socotra Airport and seaport.[24] On May 14, 2018, Saudi troops were also deployed on the island, and a deal was brokered between the UAE and Yemen for a joint military training exercise and the return of administrative control of the airport and seaport to Yemen.[25][26]
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Socotra is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth of continental origin (i.e. not of volcanic origin). The archipelago was once part of the supercontinent of Gondwana and detached during the Miocene epoch, in the same set of rifting events that opened the Gulf of Aden to its northwest.[27] Culturally and politically, the island is a part of Yemen, but geographically it belongs to Africa as it represents a continental fragment that is geologically linked to the continental African Somali Plate.[28]
The archipelago consists of the main island of Socotra (3,665 km2 or 1,415 sq mi), three smaller islands, Abd al Kuri, Samhah and Darsa, and two rocky islets, Ka'l Fir'awn and Sābūnīyah, both uninhabitable by humans but important for seabirds.[29] The island is about 125 kilometres (78 mi) long and 45 kilometres (28 mi) north to south.[30] and has three major physical regions:
- The narrow coastal plains with its characteristic dunes, formed by monsoon winds blowing during three summer months. The wind takes up the coast sand in a spiral and, as a result, forms the snow-white Socotran sand dunes.[31]
- The limestone plateaus of Momi, Homhil and Diksam with its characteristic karst topography based on limestone rock areas intersected with inter-hill plains. For centuries until recently Socotra's main economic activity was subsistent transhumant animal husbandry, predominantly goats and sheep on these plateaus. The outcome is a unique and still active cultural landscape of agro-pastoralism with its characteristic rainwater harvesting systems.[32]
- A central massif, the Hajhir Mountains, composed of granite and metamorphic rocks.[33] rising to 1,503 metres (4,931 ft).[34]
Momi Plateau with rainwater harvest structures, water storage body, shelter for herders
A wadi in Socotra
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The climate of Socotra is classified in the Köppen climate classification as BWh and BSh, meaning a transitional hot desert climate and a semi-desert climate with a mean annual temperature over 25 °C (77 °F). Yearly rainfall is light but is fairly spread throughout the year. Orographic lift provided by the interior mountains, especially during the northeast monsoon from October to December, results in the highest inland areas averaging as much as 800 millimetres (31.50 in) per year and receiving over 250 millimetres (9.84 in) per month during November and December.[35] The southwest monsoon season from June to September brings strong winds and high seas.
In an extremely unusual occurrence, the normally arid western side of Socotra received more than 410 millimetres (16.14 in) of rain from Cyclone Chapala in November 2015.[36] Cyclones rarely affect the island, but in 2015 Cyclone Megh became the strongest, and only, major cyclone to strike the island directly.
| Climate data for Socotra | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 30.0 (86.0) |
31.7 (89.1) |
32.8 (91.0) |
37.2 (99.0) |
38.5 (101.3) |
40.6 (105.1) |
37.4 (99.3) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
37.0 (98.6) |
33.0 (91.4) |
30.6 (87.1) |
40.6 (105.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.1 (80.8) |
27.8 (82.0) |
29.2 (84.6) |
31.8 (89.2) |
34.6 (94.3) |
33.8 (92.8) |
32.3 (90.1) |
32.4 (90.3) |
33.2 (91.8) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.6 (85.3) |
28.3 (82.9) |
30.8 (87.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.8 (76.6) |
24.8 (76.6) |
26.3 (79.3) |
28.7 (83.7) |
31.3 (88.3) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.3 (84.7) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.0 (80.6) |
25.8 (78.4) |
28.0 (82.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) |
21.7 (71.1) |
23.3 (73.9) |
25.5 (77.9) |
28.0 (82.4) |
27.9 (82.2) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.4 (79.5) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.3 (73.9) |
25.1 (77.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 17.0 (62.6) |
17.2 (63.0) |
18.9 (66.0) |
20.3 (68.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
22.8 (73.0) |
21.7 (71.1) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.2 (72.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 2.5 (0.10) |
2.5 (0.10) |
10.2 (0.40) |
0.0 (0.0) |
2.5 (0.10) |
30.5 (1.20) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
2.5 (0.10) |
10.2 (0.40) |
50.8 (2.00) |
81.3 (3.20) |
193.0 (7.60) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 7.7 | 5.2 | 21.7 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 70 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 62 | 60 | 58 | 57 | 62 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 65 |
| Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[37] | |||||||||||||
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Most of the inhabitants are indigenous Soqotri people from Al-Mahrah tribe, who are of Southern Arabian descent from Al Mahrah Governorate,[38] and are said to be especially closely related with the Qara and Mahra groups of Southern Arabia.[39] Some of the inhabitants are African, descending from former slaves who settled on the island.[40] The majority of male residents on Socotra are reported to be in the J* subclade of Y-DNA haplogroup J. Several of the female lineages, notably those in mtDNA haplogroup N, are unique to the island.[41]
Almost all inhabitants of Socotra, numbering about 50,000, live on the main island of the archipelago.[42] The principal city, Hadibu (with a population of 8,545 at the census of 2004); the second largest town, Qalansiyah (population 3,862); and Qād̨ub (population 929) are all located on the north coast of the island of Socotra.[43] Only about 450 people live on 'Abd-al-Kūrī and 100 on Samha; the island of Darsa and the islets of the archipelago are uninhabited.[44]
Language
The island is home to the Semitic language Soqotri, which is related to such other Modern South Arabian languages on the Arabian mainland as Mehri, Harsusi, Bathari, Shehri, and Hobyot, which became the subject of European academic study in the nineteenth century.[45][46]
There is an ancient tradition of poetry and a poetry competition is held annually on the island.[47] The first attested Socotran poet is thought to be the ninth-century Fatima al-Suqutriyya, a popular figure in Socotran culture.[48] Socotra Swahili is extinct.[49]
Religion
The earliest account concerning the presence of Christians in Socotra stems from the early-medieval 6th century CE Greek merchant Cosmas Indicopleustes[50] Later the Socotrans joined the Assyrian church.[51] During the 10th century, Arab geographer Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani recorded during his visits that most of the islanders were Christian.
Christianity went into decline when the Mahra sultanate took power in the 16th century, and the populace had become mostly Muslim by the time the Portuguese arrived later that century.[52] An 1884 edition of Nature writes that the disappearance of Christian churches and monuments can be accounted for by a Wahhabi excursion to the island in 1800.[53] Today the only remnants of Christianity are some cross engravings from the first century CE, a few Christian tombs, and some church ruins.[54]
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Public transport on Socotra is limited to a few minibuses; car hire usually means hiring a 4WD car and a driver.[55][56] Transport is a delicate matter on Socotra as road construction is considered locally to be detrimental to the island and its ecosystem. In particular, damage has occurred via chemical pollution from road construction while new roads have resulted in habitat fragmentation.[57]
The only port on Socotra is 5 kilometres (3 miles) east of Hadibu. Ships connect the port with the Yemeni coastal city of Mukalla. The journey takes 2–3 days, and the service is used mostly for cargo.[58] The UAE funded the modernization of the port on Socotra.[59]
Yemenia and Felix Airways flew from Socotra Airport to Sana'a and Aden via Riyan Airport. As of March 2015, due to ongoing civil war involving Saudi Arabia's Air Force, all flights to and from Socotra were cancelled.[60] During the deployment of Emirati troops and aid to the Island, multiple flight connections were made between Abu Dhabi and Hadibu as part of Emirati effort to provide Socotra residents with access to free healthcare and provide work opportunities.[61] Currently, there are scheduled flights from Cairo and Abu Dhabi to Socotra once per week.[62]
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Among 19th-century visitors to the island came British celebrity explorers Theodore and Mabel Bent, and their party, from mid December 1896 to mid February 1897.[63]
Prior to the construction of the Socotra airport, the island could only be reached by a cargo ship. The ideal time to visit Socotra is from October to April; the remaining months usually have heavy monsoon rainfall, making it difficult for tourists; flights also usually get cancelled.[64] The island lacks any well-established hotels, although there are a few guesthouses for the travelers to stay during their short visits.[65] The island received over 1,000 tourists each year until 2014,[66] which has since been affected by the civil war.
Tourism to the island has increased over the years as many operators have started offering trips to the island, which Gulf Today claimed “will become a dream destination despite the country's conflict”. In May 2021, the Ministry of Information stated that the UAE is violating the island and has been planning to control it for years. It is running illegal trips for foreign tourists without taking any permission from the Yemeni government.[67]
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- Other sights
Wadi Dirhur canyon on the Diksam Plateau
Ar'ar spot
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- Galápagos Islands, an archipelago of Ecuador which is also famous for its isolated geography and plant and animal species
- Masirah Island, another island with a rugged terrain off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula
- List of islands of Yemen
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