{"id":1728,"date":"2024-06-04T09:12:35","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T13:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/?p=1728"},"modified":"2024-06-06T12:10:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T16:10:02","slug":"awakening-new-depths-of-understanding-about-the-red-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/2024\/06\/awakening-new-depths-of-understanding-about-the-red-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Awakening New Depths of Understanding About The Red Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The Red Sea may take its name from the red its water turns [Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure>A line in the famous poem \u201cThe Rime Of The Ancient Mariner<\/a>\u201d reads \u201cwater, water, every where.\u201d Although not meant as a scientific statement, the poem\u2019s words accurately convey the makeup of the Earth. Oceans cover 70%<\/a> of the planet, so why not acknowledge their presence and contribution to humans? In that vein, the UN celebrates World Oceans Day 2024 with the theme Awaken New Depths<\/a> on June 7th. This upcoming event provides the perfect time for awakening new depths of understanding about the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Oceans Versus Seas<\/strong><\/h3>\n Water has been present on Earth since the beginning. Genesis 1:10<\/a> states God called the gathering of waters that He created \u201cseas.\u201d But are the terms \u201cocean\u201d and \u201csea\u201d interchangeable? Although people often substitute one word for the other, technically an ocean and a sea are two different bodies of water. Geographers consider a sea a division of the ocean enclosed or partly enclosed by land. The key difference between the two water bodies lies in their size with oceans bigger and seas smaller<\/a>. Seas are also generally shallower<\/a> than oceans as well.<\/p>\n Currently geographers recognize five oceans<\/a>\u2014the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern (also known as the Antarctic Ocean).\u00a0According to National Geographic, over fifty seas<\/a> exist, with the Red Sea counted among them. Although not big enough to be considered an ocean, the Red Sea still covers a surface area<\/a> of about 169,000 square miles.<\/p>\n Understanding About The Red Sea \u2013 The Basics<\/strong><\/h3>\n A part of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea is a sea inlet<\/a> lying between Africa and Asia. Only 221 miles across<\/a> at its widest point, this narrow strip of water extends southeast from\u00a0Suez<\/a>, Egypt for about 1,400 miles<\/a>.\u00a0At its northern end, the Red Sea splits into two parts<\/a>, the Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast and the Gulf of Suez in the northwest. About 40% of the water body is relatively shallow, less than 330 feet<\/a> deep.<\/p>\n Six different countries border<\/a> the Red Sea proper, the portion exclusive of its two gulfs\u2014Saudi Arabia and Yemen on the east and Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, and Djibouti on the west. Desert surrounds<\/a> the Red Sea on all sides. No rivers<\/a> pour into the Red Sea, rainfall is scant, and over six feet of water\u00a0evaporates<\/a> from the Red Sea\u2019s surface annually. \u00a0At 40% salinity<\/a>, it is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world\u00a0due to low precipitation and high evaporation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Red Sea separates Africa and the Arabian peninsula [Image courtesy of Wkimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nName That Sea<\/strong><\/h3>\n More than likely, the name Red Sea relates to the color its water often turns. While normally the Red Sea appears an intense blue green, the death of extensive red-colored seasonal algae blooms <\/a>near the water\u2019s surface\u00a0turn the water a reddish-brown color<\/a>. Ancient writings, including those of Pliny the Elder and Herodotus, mention the sea\u2019s reddish-brown color.<\/p>\n Modern scholars, however, theorize the adjective \u201cred\u201d refers to the direction of south<\/a> and the Black Sea\u2019s name might refer to the direction of north. They base this proposal on the fact some Asian languages employ color words to signify the four cardinal directions.<\/p>\n The Red Sea\u2019s History<\/strong><\/h3>\n The Red Sea is one of the first large bodies of water mentioned<\/a> in recorded history. Ancient Egyptians conducted the first known explorations of it. Christians read about the Red Sea in the Book of Exodus<\/a> where God\u2019s miraculous parting of its waters allowed them to escape from the pursuing Egyptians.<\/p>\n The Red Sea played a part in the Bible\u2019s exodus from Egypt story [Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Over the centuries, the Red Sea offered an appealing trade route. The Roman Empire favored use of this water body for trade with India. The Red Sea also served as an essential element of the spice trade during the Middle Ages.\n Today the Red Sea serves an important role in the global economy. Cargo vessels traverse its waters between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea shortening the route between Asia and Europe<\/a> significantly. This heavily used shipping route handles around 12% of the world\u2019s trade<\/a> and 30% of global container traffic.<\/a><\/p>\n Troubled Sea<\/strong><\/h3>\n The Israeli-Hamas war has negatively impacted shipping activities in the Red Sea. In response to the war, Houthi rebels in Yemen began attacking shipping vessels in November 2023 in an attempt they claim is to force Israel to cease its offensive<\/a> in the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, ships targeted by the Houthis<\/a> for the most part have had little, if any connection to nations involved in the war.<\/p>\n According to reports released in January 2024, Red Sea shipping volumes dropped to 30%<\/a> of normal due to Houthi attacks. In the ensuring months the Houthis have increased their attacks<\/a>.\u00a0According to the U.S. Maritime Administration, since November Houthis have undertaken<\/a> over fifty attacks on shipping vessels, seized one vessel, and sunk another vessel. The threat of attack caused further declines in shipping through the Red Sea.<\/p>\n US naval ship destroys Houthi missiles to protect Red Sea shipping [Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nUnderstanding About The Red Sea \u2013 Environmental Concerns<\/strong><\/h3>\n Not only are ships in the Red Sea under attack, but so is its marine life. The coral reefs found in the Red Sea are some of the most unique<\/a> on Earth.\u00a0In December 2022, a devastating epidemic broke out killing most of the sea urchins<\/a> in the Red Sea. This development does not bode well for the water body\u2019s coral reefs as sea urchins are deemed key species<\/a> for the healthy functioning of coral reefs.\u00a0Over 50%<\/a> of the world\u2019s coral reefs have already been destroyed per the United Nations.<\/p>\n ************ ** Understanding about the Read Sea includes knowing the health of its marine life [Image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ** Awakening New Depths Of Understanding<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n ** World Oceans Day 2024 presents a perfect opportunity to learn something about the Red Sea. This water body, a part of the Indian Ocean, holds particular interest to Christians due to its appearance in the Bible and because of current events involving it. T<\/span>he time is now to awaken a new depth of understanding about the Red Sea, including its location, its history, and its concerns. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** ************A line in the famous poem \u201cThe Rime Of The Ancient Mariner\u201d reads \u201cwater, water, every where.\u201d Although not meant as a scientific statement, the poem\u2019s words accurately convey the makeup of the Earth. Oceans cover 70% of the planet, so why not acknowledge their presence and contribution to humans? In that vein, the UN […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5354,"featured_media":1812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[467,240,68,315],"tags":[558,555,95,549,552],"class_list":["post-1728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-history","category-nature","category-news","tag-coral-reefs","tag-houthis","tag-moses","tag-red-sea","tag-world-oceans-day"],"yoast_head":"\nunderstanding about the Red Sea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"World Oceans Day 2024 on June 7th. provides the perfect time for awakening new depths of understanding about the Red Sea.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/2024\/06\/awakening-new-depths-of-understanding-about-the-red-sea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"understanding about the Red Sea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"World Oceans Day 2024 on June 7th. provides the perfect time for awakening new depths of understanding about the Red Sea.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/2024\/06\/awakening-new-depths-of-understanding-about-the-red-sea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Feet to Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/alicemurraywriter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T13:12:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-06T16:10:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2072\/2024\/06\/Red_Sea_Sunset_2_8113329299.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alice H. 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