Socotra depicted in British exhibit [Archives:2007/1111/Last Page]
December 13 2007
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Foto credit:RBFD
The British Council will open a major exhibit Dec. 16 entitled, “Socotra-Land of the Dragon's Blood Tree comes home to Yemen,” at Aden's Jamal Ghanem Fine Arts Institute.
In a statement, the British Council said the exhibit was created by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Botanists from Edinburgh have been exploring and documenting the island of Socotra since 1880 and their experts are working with the Yemeni government to conserve its unique biodiversity.
British Council Director Elizabeth White says, “I'm very glad that the British Council and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have been able to bring this exhibit to Yemen. Socotra is significant not only because it's one of the world's the best preserved island ecosystems and a treasure house of rare flora and fauna, but also because the Socotran people's lifestyle has much to teach the modern world about living in harmony with the environment.”
She notes that the exhibit also highlights the fragility of this balance now under threat as development and tourism start to change the island forever. “I hope many people will have the chance to attend the exhibit, either in Aden or in Sana'a, and learn a little more about this treasure of an island,” she adds.
The exhibit was first shown in Edinburgh in 2006, attracting more than 50,000 visitors and creating much interest in Socotra. The original exhibit was supported by the Socotra Archipelago Conservation and Development Program, the Yemeni British Friendship Association and the British Council, which now brings the exhibit (in both Arabic and English) home to Yemen.
The Aden opening will be attended by Minister of Water Abdul-Rahman Al-Eryani, as well as the British Ambassador in Sana'a and leading Edinburgh botanists, Dr. Tony Miller and Dr. Sabina Knees.
The Aden exhibit will run until Jan. 31, after which it will be taken to Sana'a for exhibit at the National Museum throughout March.
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