![]() He could easily have heard the same chorus of doves echoing along the mountainside. Seventeen and a half centuries ago, someone else had made this climb. Panting as the morning sun warmed my back, I could see my goal, the dark opening of Hoq Cave. The supply ship wouldn't sail because of pirates. Nevertheless, it retains its aura as a haven surrounded by a turbulent world-neat piles of firewood on a roadside were needed for cooking, I was told, because the island had recently run out of cooking gas for two months. Long accessible only when monsoon winds permitted, the island now has daily flights to and from the mainland. Just as the dragon's blood tree offers a glimpse of a primeval landscape, the local language, Socotri, unrelated to Arabic, is a living relic of otherwise vanished south Arabian tongues. Roughly the size of New York's Long Island, Socotra is officially part of the Republic of Yemen, but in almost every respect it is sui generis. ![]() On the horizon, 250 miles away across the Arabian Sea, lay Yemen, where the sixth cease-fire in a recurring civil war had just been declared. A solitary fishing boat glided along the aquamarine sea. The high incidence of terrorist attacks and political instability may deter you from seeing this tree in real life.Far below, I could see the beach where I had slept last night, waking before dawn to a breakfast of warm fresh bread and honey from the guest lodge kitchen operated by the nearby village. You can check out this article about why and why not to visit Yemen right now. ![]() There are lots of specific travel advisories around visiting Yemen that you’ll want to observe if you’re looking at going there. There are definitely tourists and travellers who make the trip to see this incredible tree that looks like it’s from a fantasy movie. ![]() If you’re up for a big trip, you can see the dragon blood tree for yourself in real life. How To See A Dragon Blood Tree In Real Life Image: on Instagram The root systems are then shaded by the umbrella-shaped canopy so as to preserve the moisture. When the monsoon season comes, the area is drizzled in airborne moisture.īecause of this, the shape of the dragons blood tree is optimized to intercept the moisture and channel it towards root systems. Some of the trees have even more rounded crowns than others, and look like mushroom-trees. Add to this that the branches are all bare except for the tips, and the umbrella ‘look’ is even more prominent. The crown of this iconic tree looks like an upside-down umbrella. Why Do The Trees Grow In An Umbrella Shape? Image: on Instagram Whether or not this is beneficial to humans remains to be seen. In addition to these nutritious compounds, researchers have also found that the resin can relax rat muscle. While there is no scientific evidence for the benefits of using the ‘blood’ of this tree medicinally, suffice to say the resin of the dragon blood tree contains flavonoids which act as antioxidants.
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