Socotra | Most Beautiful Travel
Socotra , also called Soqotra, located between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, is the largest of four islands of the Socotra archipelago. The territory is located near major shipping routes and is officially part of Yemen, and had long been a subdivision of the Aden Governorate. In 2004, it became attached to the Hadhramaut Governorate, which is much closer to the island than Aden. In 2013, the archipelago became its own governorate, the Socotra Governorate,More info:wiki
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#10 Socotra: The Mysterious Island of the Assyrian Church of the East,More info:bethkokheh.assyrianchurch
Socotra is an island off of the coast of east Africa that is governed by Yemen. For centuries all the inhabitants of the islands of Socotra belonged the Ancient Assyrian Church of the East, which was known as the Nestorian Church. The Ancient Catholic and Apostolic Church of the East was a missionary church that founded Christian communities in Mongolia, China, and India while Western Europe was sleeping through its ‘Dark Ages.’ The Assyrian Church of the East thrived for centuries in these lands yet most of its churches were eradicated by Islamic warriors, leaving only the churches of India and a community in the original Assyrian homeland of the region of modern Iraq and Iran. One of the longest lasting churches established by Assyrian missionaries, that eventually also fell victim to the Muslim Jihad, was the Nestorian Church of the Island of Socotra which endured for over a thousand years.
#9 I saw first-hand the UAE’s efforts to rebuild Socotra ,More info:thenational
As global attention is focused on the campaign to free the Yemeni Red Sea port of Hodeidah from its occupation by the Houthis, with the corollary of a potential humanitarian impact, little now is to be heard about the island of Socotra, also part of Yemen and recently the focus of a special feature in The National.
Lying off the northeast tip of Africa, several hundred kilometres from the Yemeni mainland, it was hit heavily a month ago by Cyclone Mekunu, with a number of people being killed, fishing boats destroyed and large areas affected by torrential rain and floods.
Last month I was fortunate enough to visit Socotra for the first time, taking a brief look both at how the island is recovering after the cyclone and at the ways in which the UAE is playing its part not just in emergency relief but also in terms of a longer term contribution to the economic and social development of what is one of the most under-developed parts of one of the world’s most under-developed countries.
One facet of that developing relationship, which came as a surprise to me, was the fact that links between Socotra and the UAE are not only very diverse but have been in place for a long time. Thousands of Socotrans live in the UAE, many here for several decades, in a relationship stretching back to before the foundation of the federation. The island lies on the traditional shipping routes from the Gulf to east Africa and there is a history, centuries old, of relations.
#8 CAN YOU STILL GO TO SOCOTRA?,More info:adventuresoflilnicki
#7 SOCOTRA ISLAND, YEMEN,More info:orangesmile
Travelers who want to enjoy the ethereal landscapes have to visit the archipelago of Socotra in Yemen. That’s one of the most remote archipelagos in the world. The main value of the islands is the unique flora that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. During the first visit to the archipelago, a person may have a feeling that he stays on another planet, so incredible some landscapes and plants are.
In total, there are more than 800 plant species on the island and more than 300 of them are endemic. According to scientists, Socotra island has separated from mainland Africa more than 6 million years ago and stayed in the geological isolation for a long time. The hot climate has led to the formation of a very special ecosystem. Visitors can now see the most incredible forms of trees, unique flowers, and valleys that resemble sketches to a fiction movie.
#6 Yemen calls on UAE to stop destroying Socotra Island,More info:middleeastmonitor
Yemen’s Ministry of Tourism has called on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to stop destroying the Island of Socotra today, SABA reported.
An official complaint was sent to the United Nation’s Security Council to accelerate a resolution to prevent the “occupying forces” from spoiling the natural resources on the island.
“In an unprecedented event the UAE has called [on] the people of the island to vote on a referendum of self-determination to join them, and this is the most dangerous step”, the Ministry of Tourism said.
The UAE entered Yemen in 2015 as part of the Saudi-led coalition to assist the Yemeni government with threats posed by the Iranian-backed Houthi group currently controlling the capital Sana’a. Last year the UAE began supporting Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) which calls for secession from northern Yemen. Internationally recognised President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi called out the UAE as an “occupier” and not a “liberator” last year.
#5 Ministry of Foreign Affairs: role on Socotra Island in line with stabilising efforts as part of Arab coalition in Yemen,More info:thenational
The UAE said its role on Socotra is as an active member of the Arab coalition to restore Yemen’s internationally recognised government and that attempts to distort its actions on the island are part of Muslim Brotherhood-led smear campaigns to undermine the fight against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign affairs on Sunday night addressed recent criticisms issued on the official social media accounts of Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, which the UAE said escalated the situation beyond “reality and logic”, Wam reported.
The Ministry expressed its surprise at the Prime Minister’s statement and said that such tensions distracted from the shared goal to counter the Houthi rebel threat.
The UAE has deployed soldiers to Socotra, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, as part of a campaign to support its residents but the move has been criticised, with the Emirates accused by some Yemeni officials of over-stepping its UN-backed mandate as part of the Coalition, according to media reports.
The island has been largely neglected by Yemeni authorities since the start of the war against the Houthi rebels, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, and the UAE has been offering support to the island’s residents, including offering them trips to the Emirates to receive medical treatment. It has been buying land in order to build a factory, prison and other facilities.
#4 DRAGON’S BLOOD TREE, THE MILLENNIAL TREE OF SOCOTRA ISLAND,More info:mybestplace
#3 File:Bottle Trees, Socotra Island (9888518324).jpg ,More info:wikimedia
#2 UAE build ‘Zayed residential city’ on Yemen’s Socotra island,More info:alaraby
#1 File:Dragon’s Blood Tree, Socotra Island (17134778587).jpg ,More info:wikimedia
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