What is the Bab-el-Mandeb?
Q: What is the Bab-el-Mandeb?
A: The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, Djibouti and Eritrea, north of Somalia, in the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Guardafui Channel and Gulf of Aden.
Q: What does "Bab-el-Mandeb" mean?
A: "Bab-el-Mandeb" means "Gate of Tears" in Arabic.
Q: How did it get its name?
A: The strait gets its name from either the dangers of traveling on it or an Arab legend about those who were drowned by an earthquake that separated Asia and Africa.
Q: What role does Bab el Mandab play?
A: Bab el Mandab acts as an important link between the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea via the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
Q: How much oil passes through it per day?
A: In 2006, about 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).
Q: How wide is Bab Iskender (Alexander's Strait)?
A: The eastern channel known as Bab Iskender (Alexander's Strait) is 2 miles (3 km) wide and 16 fathoms (30 m) deep.
Q: What are Seven Brothers?
A: Near the coast of Djibouti is a group of smaller islands known as Seven Brothers.
