Greenwich: King Tut at The O2

3:42pm Tuesday 4th March 2008

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In ancient times Egypt was a regional superpower and had the riches to prove it. GLYNN GARLICK enjoys an exhibition featuring the most famous pharaoh of them all.

TUT tut. Don't do it. Miss the chance to see the treasures of ancient Egypt currently on show in the capital, that is.

In this case it's King Tut, whose treasures are here for the first time in 35 years.

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs is on at The O2 in Greenwich until August 30.

So it's on in the former Dome rather than in a pyramid. But then the Boy King's tomb wasn't in one anyway, so who cares?

Online booking specialist Hotelopia's offer of a chance of seeing the exhibition as part of a weekend break package was too good to miss.

There are more than 130 ancient artifacts on show. Although they do not include the famous funeral mask, they are still must-see viewing. There's gold everywhere.

Highlights include a gorgeous canopic coffinette which contained the pharaoh's mummified organs, a diadem, statuettes and a golden dagger. Stunning.

The exhibition is well set out and visitors can listen to an audio guide featuring Egyptian-born screen legend Omar Sharif, famous for desert scenes in Lawrence of Arabia. How apt.

It's a case of tell them about the mummy, honey. With Doctor Zhivago. Excellent.

And there's more. As well as the mummy, we get to hear the story of Tut's probable daddy Akhenaten, who rid Egypt of its old gods and only worshipped sun deity the Aten. His son reversed this.

Artifacts connected with Akhenaten and other members of the royal family are also on show to offer a wider view of Tutankhamun's time.

It's amazing such intricate treasures were made in around 1,300BC.

There's also a room dedicated to Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, to emphasise a British link to the story. It is on in London after all.

However, the exhibition is attracting people from all over, including internationally. And this is where Hotelopia comes in.

It is the official international accommodation provider for the exhibition, with packages starting at £40 per person, per night, including entrance ticket and audio guide.

The swanky four-star deluxe Hotel Radisson Edwardian New Providence Wharf is a 10-minute walk from Canary Wharf and offers great views of The O2.

Great rooms include walk-in showers. As the Egyptians knew, water is all important, and this hotel certainly goes the extra Nile on that front. It also offers great breakfasts. Yum.

Its East River Spa also offers visitors a chance to relax. Apt treatments available included the Cleopatra Bathing Experience and the Desert Heat Body Wrap. Mr Sharif would surely approve.

Hotelopia offers reduced-rate accommodation to leisure and business travellers at more than 25,000 properties in more than 900 destinations throughout Europe, North America, Latin America, Australasia, the Caribbean and Asia.

The Tutankhamun exhibition is the start of the company's move to offer hotel breaks for people seeking more than just accommodation. For more details, visit hotelopia.co.uk or call 0871 711 9494.

People should certainly take the chance to see the exhibition about the Boy King.

And to those who are thinking of giving it a miss? Tut tut. You really should make the effort.