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This investigation shows how touristic projects have expanded along Egypt's north-west coast. Some of the projects are owned by Egyptian and Gulf businessmen and sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf states, and some are funded by Egyptian government investment. The growth of these developments has coincided with a marked increase in the rate of coastal erosion in the area. All the while, public space access on the beaches of Alexandria is increasingly being taken over by paid-for touristic business projects.
On a famous rock that would later bear her name, actress Leila Mourad sat and sang “El-Maya we’l Hawa” in the film Shati el-Gharam (The Beach of Love). She sang of the sea that brought her “solace” and of the people “who come and go,” in an era when both the rich and the poor shared the shoreline. In the film, Mourad—playing the daughter of a telegraph operator, meets a wealthy young man. They are brought together by the sea, which at the time was a refuge open to everyone.
It seems that Egypt’s beaches are no longer as accessible as they once were for the public, according to Ahmed Hussein, a pseudonym, who lives in Matrouh Governorate. Ahmed says that, unlike in the past, he and his family can no longer access beaches such as Ras El Hekma or others along the north coast starting from Marina El Alamein.
