Babel Mandeb

Bab-el-Mandeb, Straits of (Arabic - gate of tears), the channel which connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean, thus dividing Arabia from Africa, has a mean breadth of 20 miles. The island of Perim, occupied by Great Britain, divides it into the Great Strait to the W., and the Little Strait to the E. The latter, though narrow, is less deep and subject to fewer currents, and is therefore used by most vessels passing in and out of the Red Sea.