The Alien Beauty of Socotra Island

Socotra is an isolated island, situated around 250 miles off the coast of Yemen. It is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The exclusive characteristic of Socotra Island is to home of some of weirdest looking plants that are found nowhere else on planet earth. The largest member of the archipelago also called Socotra. The Socotra is also spelled Sokotra, Arabic Suquṭrā, Island. Actually, Socotra Island is an archipelago formed of four islands, near the Gulf of Aden. It is very isolated, and has a harsh, hot, and dry climate, used to be part of Africa six million years ago. The trees are out of Land of the Lost and the feeling you have is like nowhere else.

Socotra Island is swarming more than 800 rare species of plants of which more than a third are endemic. The extremely high levels of endemism also take place in Socotra’s reptiles. Also 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else on the earth. In recognition of its distinct plant and animal life, the archipelago was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. The Socotra Island has a rich fauna, including several endemic species of birds, i.e., Socotra starling, the Socotra sunbird, Socotra bunting, Socotra cisticola, Socotra sparrow, Socotra golden-winged grosbeak and a species in a monotypic genus, the Socotra warbler.

Socotra Island marine life is very diverse with 253 species of reef-building corals, 730 species of coastal fish and 300 species of crab, lobster and shrimp, and well represented in the property’s marine areas. The Socotra Island is considerably inhabited, and has been for more than 2,000 years. Almost 50,000 people now live on the main island of the archipelago, engaged with fishing, animal husbandry, and the cultivation of dates are the primary occupations of the indigenous population. 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.

More than 250 million years ago, Socotra Island stood apart, when all planets were joined and most main life forms roamed freely. Socotra has been breeding many species of plants, birds and animals. The most famous plant is secular Cinnabar or Dragon’s Blood Tree “Dracaena cinnabari”, which is an umbrella shaped tree. Locals have different superstitions about this tree, believed this tree has red sap thought to be dragon’s blood of the ancient. However, this plant is used in medicine, dye, paint & varnish, various endemic aloes, and for cosmetics. Socotra isolation from other land masses meant whatever evolutionary process the flora and fauna underwent never spread to the mainland.

Another great plant is Desert Rose Tree (Adenium obesium), which appears to have some captivating forms that are trying to penetrate the rocky soil. It also produces striking massive pink flowers in April. Its trunk is a precious reservoir of water for this area with a nearly desert climate and it can reach five meters in height and three meters in diameter. Other endemic plants includes the massive succulent tree Dorstenia gigas, the cucumber treem Moraceae, Dendrosicyos socotranus, the rare Socotran pomegranate (Punica protopunica), Aloe perryi and Boswellia socotrana. In the interior, nomads keep cattle and other animals and raise some crops. Socotra Island main exports are ghee (clarified butter), fish, and frankincense.

On the other hand, the only mammals native to Socotra are bats. However, on the island there are many cats and dogs, which are much bigger than the European ones, reaching up to 27 pounds. Socotra has unbelievable Alien beauty and natural habitat, mesmerizing place and welcoming, simple people. Socotra Island has airport facility. The best time to visit Island from October till April. The other months have heavy monsoon rainfall, making it difficult for tourist survival and flights often cancelled. Moreover, keep in mind Socotra Island doesn’t have any well-established hotels, only few guest houses for travelers to stay.

 

 

Tomb of Nur Jahan

The Tomb of Nur Jahan situated in Shahdara near to Lahore Pakistan. The Tomb of Nur Jahan is a 17th century mausoleum was built by Mughal Empress Nur Jahan. Empress Noor Jahan lies buried in a tomb not far from that of her husband, Emperor Jahangir. The beautiful red sandstone mausoleum, is located in Shahdara Bagh, across the River Ravi from Lahore. The Tomb of Nur Jahan is part of an ensemble of nearby monuments, including the Tomb of Jahangir, Akbari Sarai, as well as the tomb of Asif Khan. In the 18the century the Tomb of Nur Jahan was plundered by army of Ranjit Singh.  And tomb was stripped of its ornamental stones and marble during the occupation of Lahore. And material & marble was used in decorating their Golden Temple in Amristar.  Even The Sikh ruler opened the grave of Nur Jahan and ordered her skeleton to be thrown to dogs and wolves. It has been said that half the Golden Temple's splendour derives from marble plundered from Nur Jahan's shrine.

 

Nur Jahan's tomb was separated from the other monuments by open fields. Then later interrupted by construction of the Lahore to Peshawar Railway Line during the British rule.  Also Quranic verses are inlaid in marble on the cenotaph. Nur Jahan was the most powerful Mughal Empress. During her reign between 1611 and 1627, she efficiently shaped the expanding Mughal Empire, and contributed towards religious causes and helped foster overseas trade. The Tomb of Nur Jahan suffered under British rule when a railway line was built between the tombs of Asif Khan and Nur Jahan. The tomb underwent minor repairs but is slated for major restoration.

 

Mehr-un-Nissa bestowed with the title Nur Jahan spent 18 years with Mughal Emperor Jahangir.  she died at the age of 68 years and much of the mausoleum was most probably constructed during her lifetime. She was fourth child of Asmat Begum and her husband Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who had both immigrated from Persia. a migrant from Persia, who along with his family had fled to Hindustan, and rose to exalted positions in the cosmopolitan court of Akbar. She married Jahangir in the sixth year of his reign, and, because of her abilities, soon became the fountainhead of authority at the Mughal court. The Tomb of Nur Jahan took 4 years to finish with the cost of 3 Lakh Rupees. The Tomb of Nur Jahan lacks a demarcated boundary, and mostly serves as a cricket ground for local boys. Indeed, it’s really amazing, how an average king gets himself a masterpiece, and perhaps the strongest woman of the Mughal timeline is unable to carry that strength to her lasting abode.

 

The Tomb architecture built on a podium in the takhtgah style. The platform measuring 158 square feet, and tomb is in the shape of a square and measures 124 feet on each side, and is 19.6 feet high. Minarets may previously have risen from the corners of the mausoleum, similar to the nearby Jahangir tomb. The tomb stands in the center of a Persian-style Charbagh. The original garden no longer survives, but once included tulips, roses, and jasmine. Noor Jahan, along with her widowed daughter Ladli Begam, lived in Lahore until her death in 1645, Shah Jahan having settled an annual allowance of two lakhs of rupees on her.

 

Contrasting to her father's tomb name “tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah”, which was constructed in white marble. However, Nur Jahan's mausoleum is primarily clad in red sandstone, with a flat roofline alike to that of her husband's tomb. Also the exterior features 7 vaulted arches. Which were covered with marble and wrought with flower mosaics in semi-precious stones. The central arch on each side protrudes out from the three flanking vaulted arches. The initial photos of the mausoleum show its ravaged condition, where the bare shell, shorn of its decorative facing, with some traces of delicate fresco in internal muqarnas could be seen. Minute paneling was executed in intricate patterns and cornices are honeycomb shaped in several rooms. The inner floor is covered with marble and the outer platform with sandstone. The exterior, encased in red sandstone, was inlaid with floral motifs in addition to white, black and yellow marble.

 

The central vaulted chamber of the tomb contains a marble platform with two cenotaphs. One that commemorates Nur Jahan and the other to commemorate her daughter, Ladli Begum. This was built by Hakeem Ajmal in 1912. Moreover, the original marble sarcophagus bears decorative workmanship and the name of Allah, in the same style and size as seen in the tombs of Jahangir. The Tomb of Nur Jahan is inscribed an epitaph: "On the grave of this poor stranger, let there be neither lamp nor rose. Let neither butterfly’s wing burn nor nightingale sing". However, In the recent times, an attempt to restore the monument has been made to look completely new, having lost the delicate traces of floral and geometric flourishes she so loved.

 

 

Mughal Emperor Jahangir Tomb

In 1637, a mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Jahangir is located in Shahdara adjacent to Lahore, Pakistan. This is called Tomb of Jahangir, along the banks of River Ravi. Emperor Jahangir, who ruled the Mughal Empire from 1605 to 1627 C.E. The Janangir mausoleum is most popular due to its fantasist interiors extensively embellished with frescoes and marbles. This spot had been a favorite area of Jahangir and his wife Nur Jahan when they resided in Lahore, and this spot was usually used as a point of departure for travels to and from Kashmir and Lahore. The Jahangir Tomb along with Akbari Sarai, Tomb of Asif Khan are in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage status. Much of mausoleum’s exterior that is richly decorated with pietra dura. This was rural area famous for its many pleasure gardens. The tomb in located in Nur Jahan's pleasure garden, the Dilkusha Garden, that had been laid out in 1557. The tomb of Jahangir's wife Nur Jahan is located slight southwest of Asif Khan's tomb. However, the Tomb of Asif Khan, built in 1645, and the Akbari Sarai, built in 1637, are located immediately west of Jahangir's tomb complex. Flooding from the nearby River Ravi threatened or damaged the site sustained water damage during flooding in 1988 that covered much of the site in 10 feet of water for 5 days.

Jahangir was died on 28 October 1627 in the foothills Kashmir when he was on travelling to town of Rajauri. His dead body was carried from Kashmir to Shahdara on 12 Nov 1627. The Dilkusha Garden was his favourite spot of Jahangir and his wife Nur Jahan, when they lived in Lahore.  The funeral procession done by his son (Emperor Shah Jahan) in that place , ordered a mausoleum befitting an Emperor should be built in his father's honor to inter his remains. Jahangir has renewed interest in minarets; however some historians attribute construction of tomb to Jahangir’s son Shah Jahan. Jahangir’s wife Nur Jahan had vision of constructing tomb, taking inspiration from her father’s burial place. It is believed, that construction cost was around 10 lakh and it took three years to finish. The tomb's gardens are laid out in the Persian Chahar Bagh style. Hence, the construction work of the mausoleum lasted 10 years, from 1627 to 1637, and was most likely funded by the imperial treasury (though there is some evidence that Jahangir's wife, Nur Jahan, may have financed the construction).

In 1814, some repair work done by Sikh rule when they were pillaged by the army of Ranjit Singh, with building materials used for decoration of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The tomb complex, was also desecrated and pillaged grounds were then converted for use as a private residence for an officer in the army of Ranjit Singh.  The monuments suffered further under British rule, when a railway line was built between the tombs of Asif Khan and Nur Jahan. The site was then repaired by the British between somewhere 1889-1890. The tombs walls are inlaid with carved marble.

The walls of the tomb are inlaid with red sandstone and carved marble motifs. Arcades surround the tomb and feature ghalib kari, or ribs inlaid into arched surfaces on the arch's curved areas. The square shaped mausoleum’s is 22 foot tall and roof is embellished with marble. The building rise four octagonal ornamental minarets decorated with geometric inlaid stone. The minarets rise to a height of 100 feet and the body of the minaret rests, called by white marble cupolas. Also, the burial chamber contains the Emperor's cenotaph. The series of vaulted compartments are richly adorned with Mughal buon fresco. In the center of the mausoleum is an octagonal chamber lined with carved marble in which the remains of the Mughal Emperor rest in a crypt below a cenotaph.

 

The interior of the tomb features a white-marble cenotaph inlaid with pietra dura in vegetal patterns, as well as the 99 Names of Allah, a common theme in Islamic mysticism. The mausoleum is set in a large quadrangle with gates facing each of the cardinal directions. Thus, entry to the quadrangle is through the western edge via the Akbari Sarai. Also there is a gate featuring a small mosque. To the immediate west of the Akbari Sarai is the Tomb of Asif Khan - Jahangir's brother-in-law. Nowadays, the tomb of Jahangir holds exceptional significance for Pakistanis as it is the only Mughal tomb located in present-day Pakistan. Its image appears on the 1,000 rupee banknote and it remains one of Lahore's most popular attractions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: CP