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Suqutra Travel Guide
Described as the "Galapagos of the Indian Ocean," Suqutra invites tourists to its spicy and balmy land. Suqutra is in fact a forest of dragon blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) and frankincense. The first thing that is likely to strike you is that roughness of the road to Suqutra. It has an unearthly air; even the origin of its name is elusive. For over a millennia, Arab and medieval writers did their best to unveil the mystery behind its name but up to this day no one has been able to throw light on the enigma.
The largest among the small archipelago of four islands that trails off the Horn of Africa into the Gulf of Aden, Suqutra is a mix of ancient granite, red sandstone plateaus and limestone cliffs, an awe-inspiring vista to the adventurous hikers. Its auspicious location near the Red Sea always invited traders from Africa, India and Arabia to barter their goods. History says that Socotrans were originally from South Arabian tribes who made incense from the island's ubiquitous frankincense trees when it was considered the "gold of the East." They also produced cinnabar, aloe and ambergris. Renowned travelers and conquerors such as Sinbad, Marco Polo, Alexander the Great and Gilgamesh supposedly visited the island.
The attractions of Suqutra are various. Massive sand dunes give way to the deserted beach of Qalansiya. The Dogub Cave with its bare teeth (stalagmites and stalactites of thousands of years in the making), its lunar landscapes of deep red soil hosting sustaining endemic plants such as the chunky, but delicate desert rose, and the sap that drips from the frankincense tree, will spark the imagination of the curious. The warm and welcoming people of Suqutra will leave an indelible mark on the heart of the tourists.
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