The Bab-el-Mandeb (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: , , ) is a
strait
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
between
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
on the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, and
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
and
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
in the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
. It connects the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
to the
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...
.
Name
![Red Sea topographic map-en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Red_Sea_topographic_map-en.svg)
The strait derives its name from the dangers attending its navigation or, according to an Arab legend, from the numbers who were drowned by an earthquake that separated the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
from the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
.
In "Bab-el-Mandeb", "Bab" refers to "gate" while "Mandeb" refers to "lamentation".
Geography
The Bab-el-Mandeb acts as a strategic link between the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
via the Red Sea and the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
. In 2006, an estimated of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about moved by
tankers
Tanker may refer to:
Transportation
* Tanker, a tank crewman (US)
* Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids
** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk
** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...
.
[World Oil Transit Chokepoints](_blank)
, Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy
The distance across is about from
Ras Menheli
Ras Menheli is a point in Yemen on the coast of Bab-el-Mandeb close to the island of Perim
Perim ( ar, بريم 'Barīm'', also called Mayyun in Arabic, is a volcanic island in the Strait of Mandeb at the south entrance into the Red Sea, ...
in Yemen to
Ras Siyyan
Ras Siyyan or Ras Siyan ( ar, رأس سيان) is a peninsula in the Obock Region of Djibouti, on the Bab-el-Mandeb strait (between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden), about 20 km southwest of Perim Island.
The peninsula consists of a reddish ...
in Djibouti. The island of
Perim
Perim ( ar, بريم 'Barīm'', also called Mayyun in Arabic, is a volcanic island in the Strait of Mandeb at the south entrance into the Red Sea, off the south-west coast of Yemen and belonging to Yemen. It administratively belongs to Dhuba ...
divides the strait into two channels, of which the eastern, known as the
Bab Iskender
The Bab Iskender ( '' Iskander's Strait'', also variously known as the Eastern strait, the small strait, the narrow pass or the small pass, is the eastern section of the Bab-el-Mandeb straits, which separates Ras Menheli, Yemen, on the Arabian Pe ...
(Alexander's Strait), is wide and deep, while the western, or
Dact-el-Mayun
The Dact-el-Mayun, also known as the Western strait, the large strait, the large pass or the wide pass, is the western section of the Bab-el-Mandeb straits, which separates Ras Menheli, Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula from Ras Siyyan, Djibouti, o ...
, has a width of about and a depth of . Near the coast of Djibouti lies a group of smaller islands known as the "
Seven Brothers
7 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
7 or seven may also refer to:
* AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era
* 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era
* The month of
July
Music Artists
* Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
". There is a surface current inwards in the eastern channel, but a strong undercurrent outwards in the western channel.
History
Paleo-environmental and
tectonic
Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
events in the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
epoch created the Danakil Isthmus, a land bridge forming a broad connection between Yemen and Ethiopia. During the last 100,000 years, eustatic
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
fluctuations have led to alternate opening and closing of the straits. According to the
recent single origin hypothesis
In paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans, also called the "Out of Africa" theory (OOA), recent single-origin hypothesis (RSOH), replacement hypothesis, or recent African origin model (RAO), is the dominant model of the ...
, the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb were probably witness to the earliest migrations of
modern humans
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
. It is presumed that the oceans were then much lower and the straits were much shallower or dry, which allowed a series of emigrations along the southern coast of Asia.
According to
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
tradition, the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb were witness to the earliest migrations of Semitic
Ge'ez speakers into Africa, occurring BC, roughly around the same time as the Hebrew patriarch
Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
. The
Kingdom of Aksum
The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in wh ...
was a major regional power in the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
. It extended its rule across the strait with the conquest of the
Himyarite Kingdom shortly before the
rise of Islam
The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territorie ...
.
The
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
unilaterally seized the island of
Perim
Perim ( ar, بريم 'Barīm'', also called Mayyun in Arabic, is a volcanic island in the Strait of Mandeb at the south entrance into the Red Sea, off the south-west coast of Yemen and belonging to Yemen. It administratively belongs to Dhuba ...
in 1799 on behalf of its
Indian empire. The government of
Britain asserted its ownership in 1857 and erected a lighthouse there in 1861, using it to command the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
and the trade routes through the Suez Canal.
It was used as a coaling station to refuel steamships until 1935 when the reduced use of coal as fuel rendered the operation unprofitable.
[Gavin, p. 291.]
The British presence continued until 1967 when the island became part of the
People's Republic of South Yemen
South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
. Before the handover, the British government had put forward before the United Nations a proposal for the island to be internationalized
[Hakim, pp. 17-18.] as a way to ensure the continued security of passage and navigation in the Bab-el-Mandeb, but this was refused.
In 2008 a company owned by
Tarek bin Laden
Tarek bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden ( ar, طارق بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن; born 1947) is the half-brother of Osama bin Laden, and a member of the Saudi Arabia business community. He was once called "the personification of the di ...
unveiled plans to build a bridge named
Bridge of the Horns
The Bridge of the Horns ( ar, جسر القرن الإفريقي, translit=Jisr al-Qarn al-ʾIfriqiyy, ) is a proposed construction project to build a bridge between the coasts of Djibouti and Yemen, across the Bab-el-Mandeb, between the Red Sea ...
across the strait, linking
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
with
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
. Middle East Development LLC issued a notice to construct a bridge passing across the Red Sea that would be the longest suspended passing in the world.
The project was assigned to engineering company
COWI COWI A/S is an international consulting group, specialising in engineering, environmental science and economics, with headquarters in Lyngby, Denmark.
It has been involved in more than 50,000 projects in 175 countries and has approximately 7,300 em ...
in collaboration with architect studio
Dissing+Weitling, both from Denmark. It was announced in 2010 that Phase 1 had been delayed; however, as of mid-2016, nothing more has been heard about the project.
Sub-region
The Bab-el-Mandeb is also a
sub-region in the
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
, which includes Djibouti, Yemen, and Eritrea.
Demographics
Population centers
The most significant towns and cities along both the Djiboutian and Yemeni sides of the Bab-el-Mandeb:
Djibouti
*
Khôr ‘Angar
Syldavia (Syldavian: ) is a fictional country in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It is located in the Balkans and has a rivalry with the fictional neighbouring country of Borduria. Syldavia is depicte ...
*
Moulhoule
Moulhoule ( ar, مول هولة) is a town in the northern Obock region of Djibouti. It is situated on the west coast of the Red Sea, at its southern entrance. It is located on the RN-15 National Highway, which connects it to Obock, located some ...
*
Fagal
Fagal ( ar, فغال) is a coastal location in eastern Djibouti. It lies north of Obock. It lies along the N15 road, connected to the Eritrean border at Rahayta to the north. The peninsula strip nearby is called the Ras Siyyan. Just to the south ...
Yemen
*
At Turbah At Turbah (alternatively, Turbat Dhubhan) is a town near the coast of the Red Sea in Taiz Governorate, Yemen. It lies about 75 km from Taiz and is about 1,800 metres above sea level. Its population in 2004 was 10,505.
Etymology & History
The ...
*
Cheikh Saïd
Cheikh Said (frequently spelled Sheikh Said) is a rocky peninsula in Yemen, near the island of Perim on the Bab-el-Mandeb at the entrance to the Red Sea. In 1868 it was purchased from the local ruler, Sheikh Ali Tabet Ahmed, by Bazin et Rabaud, ...
See also
*
Bridge of the Horns
The Bridge of the Horns ( ar, جسر القرن الإفريقي, translit=Jisr al-Qarn al-ʾIfriqiyy, ) is a proposed construction project to build a bridge between the coasts of Djibouti and Yemen, across the Bab-el-Mandeb, between the Red Sea ...
Strait:
*
Red Sea Dam
The Red Sea dam is a speculative macro-engineering proposal put forward in 2007 by a group of scientists and engineers. Although the authors' intentions are to explore "the ethical and environmental dilemmas and some of the political implications ...
Region:
*
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
*
Mashriq
References
External links
*
Notice-to-Proceed Launches Ambitious Red Sea CrossingSea crossing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bab-El-Mandeb
Straits of Asia
Straits of Africa
Straits of the Indian Ocean
Arabian mythology
Bodies of water of Yemen
Bodies of water of Djibouti
Bodies of water of the Red Sea
Gulf of Aden
Borders of Yemen
Borders of Djibouti
Borders of Eritrea
International straits
Djibouti–Eritrea border