The Hajhir massif is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
situated on the island of
Socotra
Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...
,
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. It is the highest point of the island.
Geography
The
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
spires of the Hajhir massif are located in the hinterland of Socotra and are most easily accessed via the valley approaches north of the coastal town of
Hadibo. The highest point of the range is the peak of Mashanig which lies at approximately above sea level. Other peaks of local prominence include Girhimitin, Hazrat Muqadriyoun and Herem Hajhir.
Etymology
The name "Hajhir" (
Soqotri: ), sometimes transliterated as "Hagghier" or "Hagher" in English, likely derives from the Arabic "ḥijr" (, meaning "stone"). Other possible origins of the range's name include the word "hajar" (, meaning "to flee").
The name "Mashanig" (Soqotri: , meaning "the split one"), likely derives from the Arabic verb "inshaq" (, meaning "to split"), from which one gets the word "munshuq" (, meaning "splittist").
Climbing history
Bedouin goatherds have a long history of climbing in the Hajhir. A 2014 study of Soqotri oral storytelling traditions revealed that a number of popular myths recount ascents throughout the range by local goatherds. According to the anthropologist Christopher Elliott, many accounts demonstrate a strong oral chain of transmission that links mythical characters with actual pre-modern ascents.
Gallery
File:Mashanig.jpg, The twin peaks of Mashanig. The fallen pillar bridging the peaks is called "Mishifo". The left-hand tower is the highest point of the range.
File:Socotra Mt. Skand.jpg, Mount Skand
File:Socotra Island (11007223546).jpg, Hajhir Mountains
File:Golden hour in Socotra, Yemen.jpg, Golden hour in Socotra, Yemen
See also
*
Socotra Island xeric shrublands
The Socotra Island xeric shrublands is a terrestrial ecoregion that covers the large island of Socotra and several smaller islands that constitute the Socotra Archipelago. The archipelago is in the western Indian Ocean, east of the Horn of Africa ...
*
Hadhramaut Mountains
*
Sarawat Mountains
The Sarawat Mountains (), also known as the Sarat in singular case, is a mountain range in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. In a broad sense, it runs parallel to the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and thus encompasses the mountains of ...
**
Haraz Mountains
References
External links
{{Commons category, Hajhir Mountains
Socotra
Mountain ranges of Yemen