The island of Socotra is part of an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It is so isolated that a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. Notable are the dragon’s blood trees that look like flying saucers perched on trunks.
In 2010 a Russian archaeological team discovered the ruins of a city on Socotra dating to the second century. The island is also held by some to be the location of the original Garden of Eden, due to its isolation, biological diversity, and the fact that it is located on the edge of Yemen’s Gulf of Aden, which many connect with the ancient Sumerian tales of a paradise called Dilmun.
There are almost no roads on the island, which is also home to a collection of caves and a number of shipwrecks.
- Atlas Obscura / Cuzz Blue
