Why You Should Book a Trip to Egypt During the Centenary of the Discovery of King Tut's Tomb

A hundred years after the discovery of the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, “King Tut” remains the most famous of all of ancient Egypt’s rulers – and one of the biggest attractions on a trip to Egypt.

Tutankhamun only ruled for 10 short years until dying at the age of 19 in 1325 BC. But he became a celebrity again, thousands of years after his passing, in November, 2022. That's when British Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team discovered the young pharaoh’s long-lost tomb in the legendary Valley of the Kings. It was one of the first global media events – an early 20^th century version of a story going viral!

The media frenzy – including not just artists’ sketches but actual photography! - revealing the vast treasures in the most intact ancient Egyptian tomb ever discovered made “King Tut” a sensation. Day after day, month after month as the tomb was excavated, the world learned of breathtaking new wonders: golden shrines, jewelry, statues, a chariot, weapons, clothing, and even the first perfectly preserved mummy ever discovered, inside layers of coffins that included one of solid gold.

The marvels discovered in King Tut’s tomb awed people around the world in 1922 – and cemented interest in travel to Egypt to walk in the footsteps of the pharaohs, the architects of Egypt’s ancient wonders and the Egyptologists whose work revealed ancient mysteries to modern eyes.

Fast forward a century. The 100^th anniversary year of the discovery comes as the world is traveling to Egypt again, to experience the pyramids and Sphinx and temples and tombs at Giza, Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Abu Simbel, as well as the museums that house ancient treasures and tell their stories.

Recently, over 150 select objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb went on a world tour from their home in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, destined to complete their trip in time to be permanently installed in the extraordinary new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, near the pyramids.  

They will never be permitted to leave Egypt again, so to see the artefacts in person, you’ll have to travel to Egypt and pay a visit to its new Grand Egyptian Museum. The museum’s Tutankhamum galleries will be the main attraction when it opens, as it will be the first-ever exhibit of the full, 5000-artefact tomb collection of King Tutankhamun.

With historic sites in Egypt spanning the entire length of the country, from Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast, through Cairo to Luxor and beyond in the south, an organized tour – or a river cruise – of Egypt are the best ways to ensure you get to experience the Egypt of your bucket list dreams.

Land tours and river cruises take care of the logistics of getting around and also access into ancient sites, as well as the expert local guides who will share the insights that make being in these marvelous places so memorable.

Many land tours include sailing on a felucca, a traditional sail boat, on the Nile, while Nile river cruises allow you to experience the legendary river that flows the length of Egypt, past many of its ancient monuments and sites, like the pharaohs themselves – but with modern luxuries!