1. Be sure to check the quest log carefully when it says "Amdapor." There's Amdapor Keep and Lost City of Amdapor. Lots of people have gotten frustrated because they were running AK when they should be running City.
2. It depends on what you consider a waste of your time and how quickly you're planning to finish that relic. Are you having fun doing it? Then it's not a waste (this is a game, after all). Are you going to finish a Zeta before the next relic step comes out? Probably not a waste of time; we've been told that Zeta holders will have some sort of "advantage" in the next relic quests.