Inside the Tombs
My friend visited Luxor several years before us, and according to her, her tour opted not to go to the Valley of the Queens due to safety measures. Decades ago, there was a shooting of German tourists, and when I visited the site, I could certainly see how someone could be hiding in the hills and how danger could exist. But I think that was the past and today was different. I did a quick google of the topic and did not find anything recent. I would not miss this site.
There were very few visitors while we were there in March. Luxor is a place that one can fly to directly or can take a caravan of busses. because I did confirm that busses to get shot at, we opted for the flight and the one day quick tour of Luxor.
My favorite part is the Valley of the Queens. Each tomb has a guard / guide. He collects our ticket, and if we are the only ones in the tomb, he comes down to chat, take our photo, and explain some of the things we see. Accuracy is insignificant, it is about the conversation.
This was the Egypt I had imagined. One of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Peters, writes a mystery series that takes place in Egypt, and when I read her books, I feel like I am there. Being in this Valley and visiting the toms was exactly like the Egypt she had described.