18 (30.97 GEOGRAPHY ISLANDS OF ABD EL -KURI AND THE BROTHERS Of the other three islands off Cape Guardafui Abd el-Kuri, the most westerly, is about 20 miles long and 31 miles wide at its widest part, while the other two, known as The Brothers (Darzi and Samneh ), are respectively 3 miles and 61 miles in length and 1 mile and 3 miles in width.

The Brothers are uninhabited, but a few people, who speak the Sokotri tongue, live on Abd el- Kuri. This island, of which very little is known, is composed of Archaean rocks, capped with limestone. It is hilly (the altitude of the highest point being about 1,600 ft. ), absolutely uncultivated, and almost bare of vegeta tion ; it contains very little water. The people, who have a considerable strain of negro blood , live chiefly on fish , molluscs, and turtle ; they are said to obtain rice and dates from Arab traders by barter.