Heritage Key Goes to Luxor

I've been writing for Heritage Key for some time now, and while I've always been fascinated by the sights, epic history and exciting new developments at Luxor, I'd always thought of it as a world away; something to save up for at a later date while making good with short trips to the usual European city stops. Yet a quick glance online told me that, with a little frugality, I could make Luxor my summer holiday for relatively little expense and ever smaller hassle. So, spurred on by a glut of package destination sites and my love of the ancient world, I announced my intentions to a slightly bewildered yet enthusiastic girlfriend.

'But how much will it cost?' 'Won't there be too much for a week?' Looking at Luxor's enviable wealth of ancient wonders - Karnak; Luxor Temple; Valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles; Deir el-Bahri; the Ramesseum; the Colossi of Memnon and much more besides - my girlfriend certainly had a point. But we carried on regardless. It's weird how enjoyable searching through endless reams of headache-inducing holiday offers is when you know you're going to the world's greatest open-air museum, and eventually we found a deal that matched our budget and requirements. How about return flights with Thomson and a five-star hotel on the banks of the Nile for £350 each from Sunmaster (though you can pick up plenty of bargains from budget sites like Travelzoo and Teletext)? Suddenly Luxor didn't seem far away at all.

Touching down at Luxor airport after a fairly innocuous journey from Gatwick, we immediately knew we'd hit Egypt - 40°C heat and almost sunset? In our enthusiasm we hadn't quite checked the weather report, and it would stay over 40 throughout the holiday - 47 in the Valley of the Kings! Still, it's better than a grey London sky, and our hotel, the Sofitel Karnak, was adequately air-conditioned and staffed to cope with a load of hot and bothered Brits for the week (I henceforth disassociate myself with the lobster-red, drunken idiot who announced at the pool bar, 'What did I tell ya? Egyptians have got no culture!' Shameful.

Still, the holiday was truly incredible - as was experiencing Luxor itself, which so many tourist seemed genuinely scared of going near. Still, below is a little top five things I personally enjoyed about the holiday, followed by the things which didn't enamour me quite as much. I'll be posting more blogs on my adventures, photos, top tips, quizzes and articles on Luxor and its myriad treasures, and we'll be stepping up our coverage of one of the planet's truly awesome cities, with news, views, maps and expert opinion. After all, there's no shortage of news coming out of Luxor right now - how about the ongoing saga of KV63, or the mystery of KV64, a tomb Zahi Hawass is certain to be on the brink of discovery?

Luxor's monuments have had a makeover of late, and I'll be bringing you the verdict on their success, as well as reporting on Dr Hawass' plans to install replica tombs in the region. Keep checking up on us for new content, and visit the Valley of the Kings yourself with Heritage Key's Virtual Experience. In the meantime, make do with this small summary of my life-changing excursion:

Great things about Luxor:

- The friendliness of locals once you penetrate the outer 'tourist ring' of people trying to sell you literally anything.

- The perfection of Hatshepsut's Temple: it looks like it was genuinely built yesterday.

- The shimmer of the Nile at sunset.

- The otherworldly heat, so different to home if a little uncomfortable at times.

- The streets being packed and buzzing at 1am thanks to Ramadan.

Not-so-great things about Luxor:

- The barrage of street vendors, notably kalesh drivers.

- 'Guides' who offer little advice (not all, mind) - especially to an ancient history writer!

- The constant hassle of arranging a price with cabbies - I know the price, you know the price, but we'll have a five-minute drama anyway.

- The hoards of tourists flooding in on tour buses just when you think you've caught a quiet moment somewhere.

- The otherworldly heat - sunbathing weather it ain't.

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