Marsa Alam is a fishing village which also depended on phosphate mining. It is currently developing as a new seaside resort.

In ancient times, the mountains concealed gold and emerald mines. Under Ptolemy II, a road was built linking Marsa Alam and Edfu and is still in use today.

 Port Ghalib Marina

Opened in December 2005, Port Ghalib Marina offers facilities for up to 1 000 boats. Port Ghalib aims to become the leisure boating gateway to and foremost yachting port in the Middle East. Its proximity to an airport has convinced a number of hotel chains to open up establishments here, each rivalling the next in Middle Eastern-style sumptuousness.

The village

Marsa Alam stands at the crossroads of the road from Edfu to the west and the road running the length of the Red Sea coast. The village itself is a small fishing port with a bus terminus, a few grocery shops and some restaurants

 Tourist complexes

For a long time tourists were accommodated in Bedouin-inspired encampments comprising environmentally friendly ecolodges but equipped with all modern facilities. Now luxury tourist complexes stretch along more than 80 km of coast from Port Ghalib in the north to the Wadi El Gemal National Park in the south.