Bab al-Mandab

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Bab al-Mandab
Satellite image of the Horn of Africa with the Bab al-Mandab
Satellite image of the Horn of Africa with the Bab al-Mandab
Connects waters Red Sea
with water Gulf of Aden ( Indian Ocean )
Separates land mass Arabian Peninsula
of land mass Africa
Data
Geographical location 12 ° 37 ′  N , 43 ° 21 ′  E Coordinates: 12 ° 37 ′  N , 43 ° 21 ′  E
Map of Bab al-Mandab
Smallest width 27 km
Islands Perim
A closer look at the Bab al-Mandab
A closer look at the Bab al-Mandab

The Bab al-Mandab ( Arabic باب المندب, DMG Bāb al-mandab  'Gate of Tears'; The spelling Bab el-Mandeb is also used in Germany ) is a 27-kilometer-wide strait of the sea. It connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden , which is part of the Arabian Sea and thus the Indian Ocean .

Between Bab al-Mandab and Cape Tschaplin (Мыс Чаплина) on the Bering Strait , 10,940 km, is the greatest distance (as the crow flies ) between two points within the Asian continent.

The uninhabited Sawabi Islands are also located in Bab al-Mandab .

Shipping and piracy

All shipping lines from Europe to the Indian Ocean (except for tankers that are too big to pass through the Suez Canal and have to go around the Cape of Good Hope ) pass through the Bab al-Mandab. For shipping , the Bab al-Mandab has the same meaning as the Suez Canal. The neighboring countries are Yemen , Eritrea and Djibouti .

The Federal Foreign Office has issued a travel warning for these countries . The Bab al-Mandab, together with the Gulf of Aden, is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to piracy . The German Navy and its allies were involved in the Enduring Freedom campaign with the aim of using warships to fight terrorism, weapons smuggling and piracy on the ground. She is currently participating in Operation Atalanta there . The situation center is in Djibouti.

Plans to build a bridge

A company owned by Tarek bin Laden is planning to build a bridge over the Bab al-Mandab between Yemen and Djibouti across the island of Perim in between . The project aims to promote the economy and trade in the region and make the pilgrimage to Mecca easier for African Muslims . It is expected that migrants currently taking the dangerous route via Boosaaso would also use the route; Critics believe that terrorists would also benefit and would find it easier to get to Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. There are also proposals to build a dam on Bab al-Mandab to shut off the Red Sea and generate energy from hydropower: the Red Sea Dam project .

Individual evidence

  1. Calculation with freemaptools
  2. ↑ Mission description Operation Enduring Freedom , Bundeswehr, last visited December 3, 2015
  3. ↑ Mission description Operation Atalanta , Bundeswehr, last visited December 3, 2015
  4. Tarek Bin Laden's Red Sea bridge , BBC News, February 22, 2008 (Eng.)
  5. Editorial: Bin Laden's Djibouti-Yemen Bridge , Somaliland Times No. 319/2008

Web links

Commons : Bab-el-Mandeb  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Bab al-Mandab  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations