As there was time to kill before we needed to be in Aswan to buy the ferry tickets and as El Minia was a reasonably nice place and cheap, we decided to spend and extra night and look around. We actually had cooked breakfast at the hotel and they had nice soup as well which I enjoyed very much.

There was a hassle as we were leaving the hotel as the police on duty wanted us to have a guard and we didn’t have room in the car for him. In the end the police agreed to let us go on our own subject to us making a declaration that we were going at our own risk and that we had turned down the offer of a guard. That’s what Alison said she signed!

With the guard settled, we headed for Beni Hassan on the east bank of the Nile suggested by Alison as she spotted some ruins indicated on the map. We crossed the bridge and then had to make a turn with no indication whereabouts we were heading and ended up on the opposite side of the bridge. We then again had to re-cross the bridge and this time we took the right turning into a narrow lane following other traffic. We came to a junction and could see that there was an oncoming lorry causing problems as it was not supposed to be there, and decided to take a right turn.

That was a mistake as we ended up in a village full of rowdy children knocking on the window asking for money and trying to jump on Tuah’s rear bumper. It got so bad that I had to stop the car and Alison got out with a golf stick. That did the trick as the adults could not care less what the children were doing, nor did they care if we belted one of them, hopefully.

Along the way we spotted some dome shaped roof structures and wondered what they were. They looked so tiny to be anybody’s home that we thought they were cemeteries, but when we asked the locals they indicated that the structures are for sleeping. Guess they must be homes to someone.

The going was a bit slow as there were many villages on this secondary road to Luxor. I spotted a Nile boat on the bank and decided to head for it as there was access for vehicle. There were people walking to the boat and it turned out to be a boat used for crossing the Nile to the west bank. The girls were friendly and asked me to join them in the boat but the men were indifferent as I took some pictures of them.

I thought of having the car cleaned up then but Alison was against the idea and I gave in after being accused of shouting at her which I didn’t and got an apology for it. We got to Beni Hassan as a tourist bus was just leaving and got to park Tuah by the side of the road guarded by police. The entrance fee was a mere 2EPnd but that was only to the site and the catch was if one wanted to get into the tombs, that’s what Beni Hassan is all about, it cost 30EPnd. It was a long climb up to the tombs and by the time we got to the top I felt the urge to do a big job. Luckily we had Adrian’s potty!

We had to pay up of course as we weren’t leaving without seeing the tombs. We were shown 4 tombs, the first of which was Amenemhat’s tomb which was magnificently preserved with three of its pillars still standing while the forth one had been chopped off by the Romans. All the four walls of the tomb were full of heliographic telling us the story of his life. The next, Khnemhotpe II’s tomb was free of all pillars as they had been destroyed but interesting as he had two wives and four children as depicted on the walls.

We were not allowed to take photographs but when asked the policeman accompanying us gestured that that we could be allowed if we paid the guide and the latter indicated otherwise meaning we had to pay to two persons. Not being to smart the guide even let Alison take a photo of him together with me inside the tombs. When we got to the last tomb another policeman arrived and I had to pretend to ask him if we could take photographs as he was keen to show me what the heliographic meant. He said I could take photos if I paid them and I readily parted with 5EPnd which he was not pleased about not knowing that I had paid the other two earlier. In the land of “buckshee” anything can be arranged.

We were met by the café operator at the bottom who invited us for tea or coffee but Alison was concerned about Adrian not having had lunch and we declined. I had stomach ache all the way to the hotel and got in just in time. After an hour or so I felt better and we decided to go for dinner in one of the boats tied up alongside the promenade. It was not one of the best meals I have had but it was fairly pleasant and the operator entertained Adrian while we ate.