AQUARIUS Marsa Alam is located by Tunduba Bay, 14km south of Marsa Alam Village.
Next to our own Awlad Baraka Ecolodge, there is a small indigenous nomad settlement, the Awlad Baraka family. Literarily translated, Awlad Baraka means the sons of the benediction. They belong to the Ababda tribe inhabiting the south eastern desert of Egypt. Originally pastoral nomads, most of them have been introduced to fishing as a part-time activity, living so close as they do to the sea, diversifying their diet and giving them an excellent knowledge of the local sea conditions, reefs and navigation. Most of our boat crews are recruited from amongst them.

Our aim and ambition when developing the Awlad Baraka Ecolodge and AQUARIUS Marsa Alam was to have the least impact on the environment both above and below the water and to work in unison with and support the local community. We have no doubt that, should you visit us, you will agree that we have achieved our aims.

 Marsa Alam, the main village in the area, used to be about the same as Awlad Baraka, but on a bigger scale, due to its location on the trade route intersection between the Red Sea coast and Edfu in the Nile Valley. With the evolution of trading Marsa Alam attracted inhabitants from the Nile and Eastern Desert tribes of nomads.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Marsa Alam gained more importance due to the heavy exploitation of the Eastern Desert mining resources. When most of the mining companies were nationalised, in accord with Nasser’s socialism plan, the companies started to experience difficult times due in the main to the lack of efficient management. Lots of mining activities were shut down, workers were transferred to other mining facilities further away and Marsa Alam went back to it’s old world charm.

Tourism, especially the diving fraternity, started to arrive in the early 90’s. Since then the surrounding area has seen a steady increase in capital investment, and touristic development. While still a small village of only 5.000 inhabitants, it is expected to boom over the next decade to rival the other Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh.