Socotra Island is strange

From a distance from a sci-fi movie, Socotra Island was separated from the African continent about 6-7 million years ago.

Socotra Island is home to some 800 rare and precious species of plants and animals, one third of which is not found anywhere in the world.

Socotra is located in the Indian Ocean, 250km from Somalia, a harsh environment with wide sandy beaches, limestone caves and towering mountains. Hot and dry climates appear very different plants. Accordingly, they evolved to adapt to harsh environments and it was amazing how many species developed 20 million years ago.

Among them is the dragon blood tree with the scientific name Dracaena cinnabari with umbrella-shaped foliage, blood-red plastic used in medieval magic. The desert rose tree on Socotra has a very strange onion body. Residents on the island also use aloe plants especially here for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

The island is likened to the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, considered to be the most alien place on earth. The island has about 40,000 inhabitants, but a road was built two years ago. Socotra Island has 3 types of geography: narrow coastal plain, a limestone plateau and 1,500m high mountain, recently recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage. It is thought to be part of the Republic of Yemen but the name Socotra is controversial because according to some scientists, it comes from Sanskrit meaning happy island.

Of the 140 species of birds here, there are 10 species that live only in Socotra, such as the quarries, the great yellow-billed birds. The strange thing is that Socotra Island has no amphibians.