The purpose of this expedition was to verify interpretations of photographs of the Gilf Kebir plateau taken by Gemini and Apollo-Soyuz astronauts that appear similar to images of Mars taken by the Viking and Mariner inter-planetary probes…we were surprised by the sight of a camel caravan emerging from the distant mirage.
-Farouk El-Baz, Journey to the Gilf Kebir, Geographical Journal, March 1980
This encounter brings to mind the Rod Serling story about two astronauts who think they have crash landed on a desert planet, and one killing the other over their water supply, only for it to be revealed when the camera pulls back that they had crashed outside of Reno. What might NASA scientist El-Baz have asked KhairAllah if the expedition had come upon him midway on the Darb…Take me to your leader?