# feedback on Marsa Alam please



## purple alien (Feb 4, 2014)

Hi All 
I am a single female currently living in Alexandria and it's rapidly transforming to my definition of hell. I want to know if there's any point moving to marsa alam or should I quit Egypt altogether.
What's it like in M.A. re the following:
1) personal safety
2) sexual harassment
3) rude attitude in general
4) noise pollution
All comment appreciated. Thanks


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

purple alien said:


> Hi All
> I am a single female currently living in Alexandria and it's rapidly transforming to my definition of hell. I want to know if there's any point moving to marsa alam or should I quit Egypt altogether.
> What's it like in M.A. re the following:
> 1) personal safety
> ...


Nice for a holiday but don't think i would like to live there...to remote and totally geared up for tourists.


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## purple alien (Feb 4, 2014)

hurghadapat said:


> Nice for a holiday but don't think i would like to live there...to remote and totally geared up for tourists.


Thanks Hurghadapat; remote is not a problem- what about my 4 points?


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## Gounie (Jan 27, 2011)

I visit Marsa Alam for diving but apart from that it is too isolated. Beautiful area but mainly hotels and dive camps spread along the coast, national parks and a small Egyptian town.

Move to El Gouna! I have lived here for ten years full time. It is 24km north of Hurghada Airport. A private town with three marinas, private airstrip, two universities, hospital, schools, beaches, and a great ex-pat community. There is a no hassle policy here, it is completely safe and you can walk around anytime day or night on your own without a problem. 

During the feasts the town fills up completely with rich Egyptians from Cairo so Abu Tig Marina gets noisy with music until the early hours and also at the weekends in the summer. Maybe if they rent a villa next to you there maybe some noise but it is not for long. El Kafr in Downtown is also next to a couple of late night spots so the best places to live are Italian Compound, Upper Nubia, South Marina, etc. which are easy to walk to either Downtown or the marinas. Areas like West Golf and Phase 3 and 4 white villas and apartments are very peaceful but further out. If you have a car it is just a five minute drive to the centre of town but if you rely on taxis or tok toks to pick you up it is frustrating. There are also no shops out on the edges of town so you need to come to the marina or Downtown for the mini supermarkets.

There are plenty of classes to join for exercise or my favourite hobby is riding my bicycle all over El Gouna with my camera (avoiding the main roads!). We have a small residents dive club which meets weekly and a lot of residents come along just for the social side if they don't dive. You can also travel around on the shuttle buses and shuttle boats around the lagoons. There are some changes to those coming up as El Gouna is aiming to become the first carbon neutral city in Egypt and Africa so the engines will be changing.

Search El Gouna on the web for more information.

Happy to help with any questions.


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## Helen Ellis (Aug 9, 2008)

I'm pretty sure we don't have any Marsa Alam residents on this forum. The people I know who live there only do so for work reasons, usually diving. No one has every mentioned anything about harassment or safety issues. Will ask around this weekend.


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## Helen Ellis (Aug 9, 2008)

This is the reply I got from a female diver friend who works down there.

Hi Helen, 
Regarding your question from the young lady in Alex, I'm assuming she is a 'foreigner' too? Does she have the chance to work at MA? Personally, I've never been to Alex, I hope to visit one day as it is supposed to be a beautiful place on the Mediterranean. However, my own feeling is that Alex and Cairo in the north, and some of the upper Egyptian cities along the Nile, seem to be the places where the most 'problems' are being reported. If she moved to Marsa Alam I think she would feel like she was in a different country again! I don't think she would have half as many problems because it is so quiet there... Maybe too quiet for someone on there own - depends on the person I suppose. Without knowing her, or how SHE behaves -(because I do think we have to try and remember to have a sensible approach towards keeping ourselves safe too), I would say that MA is currently streets ahead of Alex in terms of personal safety and easier, hassle-free living. However, MA is NOT a big city; it can be quite isolated and she may need to come up to Hurghada now and then just to see more people than camels and goats in the street. I've always felt safe down there, and further down in Hamata, it is generally very peaceful, quiet and my overall impression is one of everyone who is quite respectful towards one another. She certainly shouldn't encounter much noise pollution there. Hope my two-pence worth may be of some help.

Hope this helps.


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## purple alien (Feb 4, 2014)

Hi everyone, been having internet problems and posting from mobile. I just wanted to say thank you for all the replies and I will comment properly as soon as I can; hopefully later today.


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## purple alien (Feb 4, 2014)

@Gounie: Thanks for the thorough description of elgouna. I had considered it previously and it does sound special. However, I think it's too expensive for me. The rents are very high there and I think ideally it's the sort of place I would move to if I could buy an apartment there. I shall keep it in the back of my mind though


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## purple alien (Feb 4, 2014)

@Helen: Thanks for asking around for me. This is very helpful. Before I read your feedback I thought I was clutching at straws. 
I moved to Alex from Cairo after the revo. Up until about a year ago I still considered this to be a great place to be. I ignored a lot of the hassles initially and put them down to the political situation. 
There's a general sense of lawlessness. If anything goes wrong there is no real recourse. People often don't report incidents to the police for fear of revenge. A lot of people carry weapons, so what used to end up at worst as a fist fight now risks turning into a shooting. I've also been told that street drugs have become much cheaper and more easily available. 
So far I've managed to avoid any real danger but you get a sense that it could happen any time.
The sexual harassment has become nauseating. In the past the worst you would get was looks and maybe a few words. Now they stare blatantly at certain parts of my body and make obnoxious disgusting comments. I was groped twice last year, both incidents happened in a public place and in broad daylight. It's relatively 'quieter' now since it's winter but I know as soon as the weather warms up things will deteriorate again.

It's true Alexandria was a beautiful city. During the past year and a half a new tower block has sprung up in every tiny empty 'space' in all areas regardless. Now they're even tearing down some of the old beautiful architecture to replace it with ugliness. The construction workers start at 7 a.m. and go on til whenever they want, sometimes as late as 11 p.m.

So 'goats and camels' sounds awesome  though I might get bored once I've recovered and stopped feeling so frazzled. My health is really suffering lately.
I can arrange for my work to be done online so that's not going to be an issue. Would I feel isolated? Not sure. Initially I don't think I would. I'm not a wild party person though I do like to have some genuine friendships.

I'll contemplate this some more ....


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## Helen Ellis (Aug 9, 2008)

I used to live in Alex. I was told not to go back and revisit but to keep my memories intact. The city you're describing sounds horrific and nothing like the Alex of old. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.


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## andndoy (Feb 17, 2014)

*marsa alam*

marsa alam is very nice place and i work in marsa alam airport . very quite and safe place


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