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 (??? ??????), 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. 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

Bab el-Mandab acts as a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. In 2006, an estimated of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about moved by tankers.^[1]

The distance across is about 20 miles (30 km) from Ras Menheli in Yemen to Ras Siyan in Djibouti. 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). Near the coast of Djibouti lies a group of smaller islands known as the "Seven Brothers." 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.^[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].

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

References

External links

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

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