Luxor is often called the world's greatest open air museum. Indeed, it was one of the very first tourist destinations in the world, as even in ancient times Greeks and Romans visited this glorious city. In the golden Egyptian days Luxor was the capital of upper Egypt and the preferred burial destination for the pharaos. The city has been in the limelight since the amazing dicovery of the Tutankhamon tomb (who by the was was an insignificant little pharao who died at the age of 18.... can't even imagine all the treasures that the "important" pharaous were buried with) and attracts more and more tourists. I must say that even though you have to visit the pyramids while you're in Egypt you'd probably be able to absorb more of the "real" ancient Egyptian culture in Luxor. We have visited the King's Valley (unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pics), several "small" temples and the famous and amazing Karnak Temple. It was well worth the 6 hour trip from Hurghada.
