This Island Is Made Entirely of Gemstones! What's The Mystery?

This Island Is Made Entirely of Gemstones!

There's a tiny island surrounded by the stunning clear Red Sea and a bustling underwater world. Zabargat, also known as St. John's Island, has no trees and consists mostly of peridotite, which is rich in peridot.

Peridotite is a gemstone that has the nickname the Evening Emerald because of its sparkling green hue. Some historians believe Cleopatra herself loved peridots, and that lady could afford any jewels in the world.

Geologists believe peridot forms as a result of the spreading of the seafloor. When the Earth's crust decides to part ways, rocks from deep down get pushed up to the surface. That's how our Treasure Island formed.

Peridot also comes from meteorites that have crashed into Earth, but that's rare. Its color ranges from a brown-green color to yellowish green to pure green.

The deposits of this beauty are spread all across the world, from Vietnam to Arizona and Hawaii, Tanzania, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Norway. And then, of course, there's Zabargat.

So, this place is geologically unique as it's an island built of uplifted mantle, and it's also the oldest and longest-known source of peridots in the world.

The first people came here for the gemstones many centuries ago. Famous Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder mentioned in his writings that Pirates had discovered Zabar God's treasures in the year 500 before the current era. The beautiful green rocks made their way to Queen Berenice of the Roman Empire.

They came from the ancient trading port Berenike on the edge of Egypt's eastern desert. When the city fell in the 6th century, all work stopped and the island with all its treasures stood alone for hundreds of years.

In the 19th century, British explorers found the beautiful green island in the Red Sea and figured out it was the one described by Pliny the Elder a long time ago. Turkey did some mining here in the 20th century. Over just four years, they managed to collect over $2 million in peridots.

They sent the gemstones to France for cutting. The work conditions on the island were nothing like a tropical fairy tale you could imagine. There was no drinking water for workers, so they had to install a gas-powered water condenser.

Now, this territory belongs to the Elba National Park system. Most people come here to see the underwater beauties of the reefs, but if you look above the water, you can still see some beautiful sparkling peridots.

That's it for today!

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