Bab Iskender



The Bab Iskender (باب اسكندر Iskander'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, Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula from Ras Siyyan, Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa. The strait is 2 mi wide and 16 fathom deep. The Yemeni island of Perim divides the strait into two channels, Bab Iskender and Dact-el-Mayun respectively.

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 16 mi and a depth of 170 fathom. The straits are about 20 mi wide in total.

Near the African coast lies a group of smaller islands known as the Seven Brothers.