Bab-el-Mandeb

The Bab-el-Mandeb, meaning "Gate of Tears" in Arabic, is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, Djibouti and Eritrea, north of Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, and connecting the Red Sea to the Guardafui Channel and Gulf of Aden. It is sometimes called the Mandab Strait in the English language.

The strait gets its name from the dangers of traveling on it.  Or, according to an Arab legend, from the numbers who were drowned by the earthquake which separated Asia and Africa.

Bab el-Mandab acts is an important link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. In 2006, about  of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about .World Oil Transit Chokepoints, Energy Information Administration, United States Department of Energy

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. The eastern channel, known as the Bab Iskender (Alexander's Strait), is 2 miles (3 km) wide and 16 fathoms (30 m) deep. The western channel, 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 is a group of smaller islands known as the "Seven Brothers".
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Category:Straits
Category:Indian Ocean
Category:Middle East
Category:Geography of Yemen