Why Is The Red Sea So Named?

The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean situated between the north eastern coast of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. To its south the Red Sea is connected to the Indian Ocean by way of the Indian Ocean and to the north it is connected to the Mediterranean Ocean by way of the Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal.

The origin of the name of the sea is not exactly known as the sea water is not red in color; it may be because of the presence of reddish algae known as Trichodesmium erythraeum. The name also may come from the nearby mountains which are reddish due to the high presence of minerals. Another speculation is that the name Red Sea is actually a mistranslation of the Reed Sea mentioned in the Biblical story of the Exodus.

The name might also come from a native people known as Himarites meaning red in native lingo. Also the directions in a compass were coded in specific colors to denote specific directions; the color red was used to denote the south while black was used to denote the north. The names of the Red Sea as well as the Black Sea in Eastern Europe are believed to have been named based on this principle.

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