The gold of the East
The Bible gives us a clue about how valuable the natural products of Socotra were in– ‘emporium of resin’. Socotra lay on the shipping route between Arabia and India and merchant vessels would have called there regularly. Ethiopians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans knew this island and its riches, most notably frankincense, which was burned during religious ceremonies. Pliny the Elder reported that an entire year’s harvest was burned at the funeral of Emperor Nero’s wife.
