Aida

Overview

The Aida is Big Brother Island's second wreck, sitting on the western wall a short swim from the more famous Numidia, and she makes a superb deep wall-and-wreck dive in her own right. An Egyptian naval supply and troop transport lost in 1957, she lies bow-up against the steep reef with her stern trailing into deep water, her plating long since taken over by the rich soft corals that thrive in Big Brother's nutrient-heavy current.

The Dive

The Aida rests on the western drop-off of Big Brother, and like her sister she is a profile dictated by depth. The shallowest intact structure — the bow and forward section — begins at around 25–30m, with the bulk of the hull running down the wall to roughly 45m and the broken stern continuing deeper still. This is firmly an Advanced-and-beyond dive: there is no recreational shallow option, and the most rewarding part of the wreck sits right at the edge of recreational limits, so it is usually dived on a single careful descent down the wall, working the structure and ascending along the coral face.

Currents on the exposed western side can be strong and unpredictable, and the depth leaves little margin, so the Aida is planned conservatively with a guide and a clear turn-around. As with everywhere on Big Brother, dives begin with a negative entry when the drift is up.

Marine Life

The hull is a canvas of soft coral — dense curtains of red and orange decorate the railings and superstructure, with gorgonians reaching out into the current. The surrounding wall holds the same big-fish promise that makes Big Brother legendary: grey reef and whitetip sharks are regular, schooling jacks and barracuda hang off the point, and the deep blue alongside the wreck is worth watching for hammerheads and the occasional thresher or oceanic whitetip. Glassfish and anthias cloud the wreck itself.

History

The Aida was a roughly 75m Egyptian vessel used to ferry troops and supplies to the garrison and lighthouse on Big Brother. In September 1957, while attempting to land supplies in deteriorating weather, she was driven onto the island's reef and sank, with most of those aboard saved by the lighthouse keepers. She came to rest against the western wall, where she has since become a coral-clad fixture of the island's diving alongside the older Numidia.

Good to Know

Access is by liveaboard only, on Brothers and Deep South itineraries from Hurghada, El Quseir or Marsa Alam, within the marine park's roughly March/April–November season. Visibility is typically 20–30m. Because both Big Brother wrecks sit on opposing walls, dive planning usually pairs them across separate dives rather than attempting both in one — and the Aida's depth means it rewards divers who are genuinely comfortable working near recreational limits in current.