Related Images

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  Children enjoy a boat race in a lagoon at Qalansiah,an important fishing village in the northwest of Socotra Island.
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  An old wooden sailing boat,known as a dhow,at Qalansiah,an important fishing village in the northwest of Socotra Island. An Egyptian vulture perches on the prow.
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  The waterfront at Qalansiah,an important fishing village in the northwest of Socotra Island.
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  The waterfront at Qalansiah,an important fishing village in the northwest of Socotra Island. The gulls are migrants from Siberia.
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  The old mosque at Mahferhin,a fishing village in the southeast of Socotra Island.
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  A fisherman at Mahferhin,a fishing village in the southeast of Socotra Island.
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  The Zaheg Dunes near the southern shores of Socotra Island. The Shaab Escarpment is visible in the distance.
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  Sunset in the Dixam area of the Haghir Mountains against the silhouette of a Dragon’s Blood Tree (Dracaene cannabari).

More Related Images

• A spacious rock shelter dwelling of a pastoral Bedu family in the Haghir Mountains. Caves and overhanging rock are used extensively by pastoralists who make up the majority population of the island’s interior. Families will often own a conventional stone house in the lowlands too.
• A Cucumber tree (Dendrosicyos soctrana) grows in rocky soil on the island’s northern coast,near Hadibo. This strange endemic species with its swollen trunk and cucumber-like fruit is one of the island’s most bizarre botanical curiosities.
• A boy rides home after school on a donkey in the Homhil Mountains.
• A view of the Hala Coast from the top of Dikevkev Gorge on the Homhil Mountains.
• The brightly-coloured catch of fishermen at Sekra,a fishing village on Socotra's north coast. The island's coastal population depends almost entirely on fishing as its principal source of livelihood with shark,kingfish and tuna being the most important commercial species. Reef fish and lobsters also represent a significant source of income.
• Arerher dunes,Hala Coast. During the monsoon season,which lasts for four months from late May until late September each year,desiccating winds gust to 75mph and blow fine sand from beautiful unspoiled beaches into nearby escarpments and hills.
• A woman at Arerhen Quaryah,a coastal fishing village,has smeared saffron on her skin to lighten it. The island's proximity to the ancient direct sea routes from the Red Sea to India and to East Africa is reflected in the diverse origins of its 45,000-50,000 population. Many Socotrans living along the coast are of mixed Arab and African descent.
• The stark beauty of the landscape near Dileesa,looking inland towards the Haghir Mountains,which rise steeply from the coastal plains to nearly 5,000 feet above sea level. The majority of the land is suitable only for pastoralism.