Socotra

island · yemen · africa · unique wildlife

A lonely island home. Socotra sits 380 kilometers south of Arabia in the Indian Ocean, closer to Africa than to the Arabian Peninsula. It is the largest of six islands in its archipelago and makes up 95% of all the land there.

Between two continents. Even though Socotra belongs to Yemen culturally and politically, geographically it is actually part of Africa. The island is connected to the African Somali plate rather than to Asia, making it a fragment of Africa that drifted apart long ago.

The Socotrans live there. About 40,000 to 50,000 people called Socotrans call this island home. They speak both Arabic and their own unique language called Soqotri, which is found nowhere else in the world.

Near busy shipping routes. Socotra sits between the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, near major shipping lanes where ships travel between Europe, Asia, and Africa. This location has made it an important spot on world trade routes for centuries.