The Simple Life Marsa Alam’s Awlad Baraka Camp lets you get back to nature    By   Mohamed ElHebeishy

As an alternative to long established resort towns, Marsa Alam is rapidly making its mark on Egypt’s ‘Red Sea Riviera.’ Internationally acknowledged as one of the best diving and snorkeling sites in the world, this coastal getaway has an ever-increasing share of five-star fare. There is, however, a hidden gem for those who want a more back-to-nature experience: Awlad Baraka Camp.

Located in Marsa Tondoba, 14 km south of Marsa Alam, Awlad Baraka Camp opened in 2000 as a joint project between the Ababda village of Awlad Baraka (which means “sons of Baraka”) and a group of professional divers from Cairo. The Ababda tribe are the original dwellers of the Marsa Alam region. The camp is affectionately called ‘Camp Zizo,’ after Egyptian diver Zoeheir Kheireldien, one of its owners.

Mohamed ElHebeishy Awlad Baraka Camp is a laid-back alternative to the flashy resorts scene.

Awlad Baraka Camp is all about the simple life, with lodging from basic huts with shared showers and bathrooms to more spacious bungalows with private bathrooms. The rooms are embraced by the Red Sea mountains. You could head to the shore using the camp’s kareta (donkeycart), but the five-minute stroll to the water is more delight than hardship.

The camp is strategically located just 30 minutes away from Marsa Alam’s number-one excursion, Samadai Reef or Dolphin House as it is most commonly known. One of the last few habitats for Spinner dolphins in the Red Sea, Samadai offers a truly magical experience of close encounters with dolphins in the wild. (For more on Samadai Reef, See “Dolphin Diving,” Sept/Oct 2004.)

Mohamed ElHebeishy Awlad Baraka Camp is a laid-back alternative to the flashy resorts scene.

In addition, Camp Zizo is close to a number of excellent snorkeling and diving sites like Torfet Tunduba, Check Point, Erg El Torfah and Gota’a El Nakari. There you can catch glimpses of Green turtles, Eagle rays and - if you’re lucky - sharks.

Dive instructor Audrey Baudet first came to Awlad Baraka with a group of French tourists. “I came here three years ago. After one week I fell in love with the place voilà, three years already had passed” says Baudet, who works at the Aquarius Diving Center. The in-house diving center for Awlad Baraka, Aquarius arranges trips within the area of Marsa Tondoba, as well as sailing trips to Elphinstone, Gota’a El Sharm, El Ghadeer and Samadai Reef.

According to Shazly Mohamed Aly, site manager for Awlad Baraka and Aquarius, Francophones will feel right at home at Camp Zizo - several members of the camp staff are fluent or native French speakers. “Tourists come to Awlad Baraka from all over Europe, yet the majority comes from France,” Aly says. “We don’t want our guest to have any language barrier that might prevent them from fully indulging in the charming experience the place offers.”

That charming experience draws avid divers, sun worshippers and relaxation hunters alike to Egypt’s far southern shores. If your idea of nightlife is to lounge beneath the stars, lulled by the murmur of the waves, join the sons of Baraka by the edge of the Red Sea.