Driving through Asyut, we were all looking forward to passing by the city of Asyut, near which there are ancient tombs and other monuments. However, we were continuously confused by the signs that said how far it was to Asyut and in which direction you were to go to get there. Every several minutes we would see signs, generally going in an order like this:
Assyut 8km →
a few minutes later…
↑ Assyut 150km
Then…
↑ Assyut 180km
And yet again…
← Assyut 2km
The signs continued on in this fashion throughout Asyut Province. There were even a few after we had passed by the city. We made two brief stops, one in Asyut to use the bathroom, which had a rather large fly colony, and once to get gas. Antonio opted for no bathroom break for himself, but still survived the nine-and-a-half-hour trip.
We finally made it to Abydos, took a deep breath of fresh air, and fell upon our food like a pack of dogs.