Meet 500-year-old creature of Kish Island

Iranian Island of Kish is one of the country’s amazing tourist attractions that has many stories to be unfold. Here we are set to introduce to you one of the most famous trees in the island that is five centuries old.

Known as Lour Tree, this magnificent tree is connected to many mysterious beliefs. Some people consider it sacred and call it the Sacred Fig or the Fig of the Temples.

Some view it as a creature that has spirit. People also tie straps of cloth to its branches with the hope of their dreams coming true.

There have been reports that somebody tied a rope to the tree and tied the other end to his neck as if the old creature can transfer its holy energy to his body.

But what’s the origin of this tree and why it attracts this much attention? Continue reading to find out.

The tree isn’t Island’s endemic; and around 500 or 600 years ago, it was brought to the Persian Gulf beaches from India and China.

The nature of the tree is so wonderful that makes it different from other trees. What is so amazing about it is that its roots grow not in the ground but in the sky. But how? Many birds eat the fig-like fruit of the tree and the seeds that are left on other trees through birds’ droppings begin to germinate then the roots of the seed start growing toward the ground.

The roots will eventually reach the ground and become the trunks of the tree. As the tree grows, the new branches hang down and they also join the other stems.

Some of these trees have more than thousand trunks with heights of 20 meters. The Lour Tree is now protected as a natural heritage of the area. All the straps that were once tied to it are removed and it is fenced off.

PR/MM