Bab-el-Mandeb area with description

The Bab-el-Mandeb, alternatively Bab el Mandab, Bab al Mandab, Bab al Mandib, or Bab al Mandeb meaning "Gate of Tears" in Arabic (باب المندب), is a strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti, north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa, and connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A strait is a narrow navigable Channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water Yemen is located in Southwest Asia at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula between Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab) Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Geography of Somalia - Africa's easternmost country Somalia has a land area of 637540 square kilometers The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The Gulf of Aden (خليج عدن transliterated: Khalyj 'Adan Somali: Khaleejka Cadan) is located in the Arabian Sea between It is sometimes called the Mandab Strait in English.

Overview

Bathymetric map of the Red Sea with the Bab-el-Mandeb at the bottom right

The strait derives its name from the dangers attending its navigation, or, according to an Arab legend, from the numbers who were drowned by the earthquake which separated Asia and Africa. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. A legend ( Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a Narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer In the Arabic translation of Jules Verne's book Around the World in Eighty Days (page 30), it is referred to as the "Bridge of Tears". Jules Gabriel Verne ( February 8 1828 &ndash March 24 1905) was a French Author who pioneered the science-fiction

Bab el-Mandab acts as a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation In 2006, an estimated 3. 3 million barrels (520,000 m³) of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about 43 million barrels per day (6,800,000 m³/d) moved by tankers. ^[1]

The distance across is about 20 miles (30 km) from Ras Menheli in Yemen to Ras Siyan in Djibouti. Ras Menheli is a point in Yemen on the coast of Bab-el-Mandeb close to the island of Perim. Ras Siyan (رأس سيان is a peninsula in Obock Region, Djibouti, located at. The island of Perim divides the strait into two channels, of which the eastern, known as the Bab Iskender (Alexander's Strait), is 2 miles (3 km) wide and 16 fathoms (30 m) deep, while the western, or Dact-el-Mayun, has a width of about 16 miles (25 km) and a depth of 170 fathoms (310 m). Perim (بريم) is a Volcanic island strategically located in the Strait of Mandeb at the southern entrance into the Red Sea, off the southwestern The Bab Iskender (باب اسكندر Alexander's Strait) is the eastern side (2 miles/3 km wide and 16 Fathoms /30 m deep of the Bab-el-Mandeb straits A fathom is a unit of Length in the Imperial system (and the derived U The Bab Iskender (باب اسكندر Alexander's Strait) is the eastern side (2 miles/3 km wide and 16 Fathoms /30 m deep of the Bab-el-Mandeb straits Near the coast of Djibouti lies a group of smaller islands known as the "Seven Brothers. Seven Brothers' is the English name given to the Sawabi Islands, ( Djibouti) a group of small islands off of the eastern coast of the Horn of Africa " There is a surface current inwards in the eastern channel, but a strong undercurrent outwards in the western channel.

According to the recent single origin hypothesis, the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb were probably witness to the earliest migrations of modern humans out of Africa, which occurred roughly 60,000 years ago. In Paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans is one of two hypotheses of the origin of anatomically modern humans Homo sapiens sapiens The term Archaic Homo sapiens refers generally to the earliest members of the species Homo sapiens. ^[2][3] At this time, the oceans were much lower and the straits were much shallower or dry, allowing a series of emigrations along the southern coast of Asia.

According to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church tradition, the straits of Bab-el-Mendeb were witness to the earliest migrations of Semitic Ge'ez speakers into Africa, occurring roughly around the same time as the Hebrew patriarch Jacob^[4]. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic: Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental Ge'ez (ግዕዝ, ɡɨʕɨz also transliterated Gi'iz, and referred to as Ethiopic) is an ancient South Semitic Language Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ;

On February 22, 2008, it was revealed that a company owned by Tarek bin laden was planning to build a bridge across the strait, linking Yemen with Djibouti^[5]

References

External links

• Notice-to-Proceed Launches Ambitious Red Sea Crossing
• Sea crossing