07-Jan-2003 -- Beautiful Nile agricultural land! This DC is located in what is currently a field of the Egyptian equivalent to the forage crop alfalfa. It is just one crop among a wonderful mosaic that I walked through to get to the point, including sugar cane, giant parsnips, onions, harvested corn, cauliflower, and cabbage.

I approached from the Asyūt Desert highway that runs roughly parallel to the Nile and approximately 30 km to the west. Utilizing the Desert Highway can eliminate many of the checkpoints and accompanying questions that will be encountered going south on Highway 2 straight out of Cairo. There are only two checkpoints to contend with on the Desert Highway. The officers at these checkpoints are accustomed to well equipped tourists heading to the desert via Wādiy al-Rayyān early in the morning. Thus they ask few questions and often do not insist on providing an escort.

This DC lies south of Bani Suwayf, 1.2 km west of Highway 2. It can be accessed easily if you exit Highway 2 at N 28° 59.834', E 31° 00.709'. If you approach via the desert highway you are in for a special treat as you leave the windswept desert and begin to wind your way through a 15 km long maze of lush Nile Valley farmland and villages. I was able to find an east-west dirt track that took me to a point 640 meters north of the DC from which I walked various farmer's paths through the mosaic leading to the point.