Perim ( [
Barīm]) is a volcanic island strategically located in the
Strait of MandebThe Bab-el-Mandeb meaning "Gate of Tears" in Arabic , is a strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea, north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa, and connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden...
at the southern entrance into the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
, off the southwestern coast of
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
, at . It has a surface area of 13 square kilometers and rises to an altitude of 65 meters. The island has a natural harbor on its southwestern coast, but there is only scarce vegetation. The absence of fresh water on the island has always been one of the major difficulties impeding permanent settlement.
Sometimes in the geological past, its eruptions have blocked the Bab el Mandeb and thus the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
evaporated to an empty hot dry salt-floored
sinkIn geography a sink is an area of dry land below sea-level, for example the Salton Sink and the Afar Depression.Sinks tend to occur in arid areas where evaporation exceeds rainfall and the sea cannot enter.-In the past:...
.
The
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
came to the island in 1513 but did not stay in the face of
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
opposition.
Perim ( [
Barīm]) is a volcanic island strategically located in the
Strait of MandebThe Bab-el-Mandeb meaning "Gate of Tears" in Arabic , is a strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea, north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa, and connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden...
at the southern entrance into the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
, off the southwestern coast of
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
, at . It has a surface area of 13 square kilometers and rises to an altitude of 65 meters. The island has a natural harbor on its southwestern coast, but there is only scarce vegetation. The absence of fresh water on the island has always been one of the major difficulties impeding permanent settlement.
Sometimes in the geological past, its eruptions have blocked the Bab el Mandeb and thus the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
evaporated to an empty hot dry salt-floored
sinkIn geography a sink is an area of dry land below sea-level, for example the Salton Sink and the Afar Depression.Sinks tend to occur in arid areas where evaporation exceeds rainfall and the sea cannot enter.-In the past:...
.
The
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
came to the island in 1513 but did not stay in the face of
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
opposition.
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
occupied it in 1738. In 1799, the island was briefly occupied by the
British East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in preparation for the invasion of
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
. It was reoccupied by the British in 1857 and attached to the colony of
AdenAden is a city in Yemen, 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb.Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a low isthmus. This harbour, Front Bay, was first used by the ancient Kingdom of Awsan between the 5th and...
, whereafter a
lighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to pilots at sea....
was built on it. From 1869 onward, the island was used as a
coaling stationA coaling station is a seaport built for the purpose of replenishing supplies. The term is most often associated with 19th and early 20th century blue water navies, who used coaling stations as a means of extending the range of warships. Originally coal would have been one of the main supplies, but...
for ships using the
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
. In 1916, Turkish forces attempted to seize the island but were pushed back. British occupation continued until 1967, when the island was handed over to the Democratic People's Republic of Yemen.