24-Nov-2006 -- Proceeding along the east bank of the Nile through the villages south of Cairo, the road proved relatively unbusy until we arrived on the scene of a bad road accident between Baniy Suwayf and al-Minyā. Fortunately, there was a roadside ambulance about two kilometres away which the vehicle in front of us notified. The accident involved two trucks; when we passed one man was struggling to free himself, while another lay on the floor in the arms of another comforting him. A grim reminder, if one be needed, of how accident prone the Nile roads all are.

We passed several checkpoints but were only asked our nationality before being waved on. At al-Minyā we took the left turn which loops through the desert past the Nile-side villages. After twenty km or so we left the tarmac.

The confluence 28N 31E was a mere 3 km or so offroad. We drove up and over a slight rise, parked, and walked the last 300 metres. The point was further uphill between two wādiys. There were a fair number of tracks crisscrossing the wādiy but none near the confluence point. Quite satisfied, we took pictures, admired the quiet despite the proximity to the road, ate our potnoodles, and left.