Bab Iskender
{{Short description|Eastern section of the Bab-el-Mandeb straits}}
Image:Bab el Mandeb NASA with description.jpg
The Bab Iskender ({{Langx|ar|باب اسكندر|4=Alexandar'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 in Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula from Ras Siyyan in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa.
Geography
The strait is {{convert|4|mi|km}} wide and {{convert|14|fathom|m}} deep. The Yemeni island of Perim divides the strait into two channels, Bab Iskender and Dact-el-Mayun respectively.William James Lloyd Wharton, John Phillips (1900), [https://archive.org/details/redseaandgulfad00admigoog The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot] page 230. Great Britain Hydrographic Office.
The western section of the straits, Dact-el-Mayun, (also known as the Western Strait, the Large Strait, the Large Pass or the Wide Pass) has a width of about {{convert|15|mi|km}} and a depth of {{convert|180|fathom|m}}. The straits are about {{convert|20|mi|km}} wide in total.{{cite wikisource|chapter=Bab-el-Mandeb|wslink=Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition|plaintitle=Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition|last=|first=|year=|publisher=|page=|wspage=|scan=}}
Near the African coast lies a group of smaller islands known as the Seven Brothers, which belong to Djibouti. Further along, on the Western side of the Dact-el-Mayun, is Eritrea.{{cite web |title=Key Facts about Bab-el-Mandeb Strait |url=https://vajiramandravi.com/current-affairs/bab-el-mandeb-strait/ |website=Bab-el-Mandeb |access-date=29 June 2025 |language=en-IN}}
The island of Perim, which is owned by Yemen, is a strategic military outpost, due to the Bab-el-Mandeb's position as a shipping route which leads up to the Suez Canal.{{cite web |title=Yemen increases the defense of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait |url=https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/politics/yemen-increases-the-defense-of-the-bab-mandeb-strait/20240109190000195526.html |website=Atalayar |access-date=29 June 2025 |language=en |date=9 January 2024}}
Irregular tidal streams make navigation of the Bab Iskender dangerous for ships, however it is still used for shipping, despite frequent shipwrecks in the vicinity of Perim.{{cite book |last=Hakim |first=Ali A. el- |title=The Middle Eastern States and the law of the sea |date=1979 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester |isbn=0-7190-0711-9 |page=12}}
In 2008 a project to connect Yemen and Djibouti, crossing the Bab Iskender and Dact-el-Mayun by means of a suspension bridge, via Perim was announced. Al Noor Holding Investment Company launched the $200 billion project, however it was indefinitely delayed in 2010.{{cite web |title=Yemen-Djibouti bridge gets go-ahead {{!}} MEED |url=https://www.meed.com/yemen-djibouti-bridge-gets-go-ahead-2/ |website=MEED |access-date=29 June 2025 |date=12 August 2009}}{{cite web |last1=Parry |first1=Max |title=Incredible plan to build 100 new cities starting in Africa with £100bn project |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1992376/africa-100-new-cities-yemen-djibouti-bridge |website=Express.co.uk |access-date=29 June 2025 |language=en |date=23 December 2024}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{List of African seas}}
{{Coord|12|40|N|43|27|E|type:waterbody|display=title}}
Category:Straits of the Indian Ocean