Through the "Gate of Tears" - a geography lesson....

Geography is much more interesting when you are able to live it, and our travels today have definitely provided an interesting geography lesson. This afternoon, Captain McBain gave a short but interesting discussion about the area in his usual 5.00pm. announcement.

Today, we have travelled through the Gulf of Aden, through a narrow strategic strait called the Bab el-Mandeb and into the Red Sea. We passed on the eastern side of Perim Island, the strait is divided into two channels - the eastern channel is Alexander’s Channel and is only 3.2 kms wide while the western channel is Dact-el-Mayun. and is 25.6 kms 

It is easy in Australia to feel isolated and far removed from the rest of the world - many of the names on the map around us feature regularly on our news bulletins - Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Eritrea, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Somalia -  this is definitely one of the world’s ‘hot spots’ - and it certainly means a lot more to actually be here!!

The Bab el-Mandeb (there seem to be a number of different spellings) means ‘Gate of Tears’ and was so named as it was the area where an earthquake separated Africa from the mainland of Asia. The name is also thought to refer to the dangerous navigation conditions which can exist due to strong currents between the channels. Many lives from both sides have been lost here over time. 

Between the continental land mass on each side, it is only 32 kilometres wide, yet is the entrance to the Red Sea and hence, the Suez Canal and is economically vital. Before the completion of the Canal in the late 19th century, all shipping had to travel around the southern most tip of Africa to access the Indian Ocean and Asia by sea. 

As we have cruised today, we have seen a constant stream of oil tankers and military escort ships passing in each direction. More than 3.3 million barrels of oil travel through this strait on a daily basis - impressive statistics. With the recent pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden, the United States has re-opened a base in Djibouti with about 1800 personnel based her to ensure the safe passage of shipping - and we are very grateful for their presence! The US base is on the site of an old French Foreign Legion base.

And so ends the lesson..... 

Cheers