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Dateline Luxor

It may be one of the oldest cities on earth, but Luxor is now experiencing change at a bewildering rate. In the interests of tourism the past is increasingly made to serve the needs of the present. Wherever you stand on the heritage versus progress debate we’ll bring you the latest news.

Egypt News

No other country has to struggle so hard to reconcile the needs of the present with the legacy of the past. In this section we’ll be keeping you up to date on everything from the price of bread in Cairo to the latest discoveries in the Valley of the Kings.

L.T. Blog

This is the little bit stuck in the far corner that you don’t need to bother with. Every now and then I’ll just feel the need to yak on about something totally unrelated to the business at hand. Don’t take any notice - feel free to use anything on the site as you need and just ignore whatever nonsense is going on here...

“I must confess that I felt no small degree of sorrow to quit a place that had become so familiar to me and where, as in no other part of the world, I could find so many objects of enquiry so congenial to my inclination. I must say that I felt more in leaving Thebes than any other place in my life.” Giovanni Battista Belzoni. 27 January, 1819

Welcome to Leaving Thebes - a site dedicated to independent travellers wishing to explore Luxor in Upper Egypt - the ancient city of Thebes.

The site has grown out of the experience of my own first visit to Luxor which I have written about in a book called Leaving Thebes which will be published shortly on lulu.com. This started out as a popular online journal on the Luxor internet forum Luxor4U. Royalties from sales of the book will be donated to the Luxor children's charity Luxor4Care.

In the coming weeks and months I will be building the site to provide a range of resources for independent travellers to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings - please call back soon! Tim Cooper

Guide to Luxor

This section will be aimed in particular at the independent traveller and will offer suggestions on all aspects of planning your journey and enjoying yourself when you are there. Regular features will include the East Bank versus West Bank debate and will reflect the ongoing changes to this city that never sleeps!

Exploring the Theban Necropolis

Want to do the west bank without a tour bus? Walk to the Valley of the Kings by the ancient workmen’s track? Pay homage at the shrine of Ptah and Meretseger oblivious to the hoards of tourists in the Valley of the Queens? So did I, and I’ll be sharing my tips for discovering Thebes on foot here...