The balloon flights over the west bank lift off before sunrise, and the first thing a traveller learns in Luxor is that the desert is cold at five in the morning. By noon in the Valley of the Kings the same traveller is looking for shade. Between November and March, the garments that work are the ones that can be carried as easily as they are worn.

The Nile divides the city in two. On the east bank are Karnak and Luxor Temple, the Corniche and the Winter Palace hotel, built in 1886 for the first generation of winter visitors. On the west bank are the tombs, the terraced temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and a quieter landscape of sugar cane and mud-brick villages, where a few garden hotels sit among the fields. Most days involve a crossing, by motorboat or by felucca, and most involve a great deal of walking on stone and sand.

Egypt dresses modestly, and Luxor more so than the Red Sea resorts. Covered shoulders and knees are expected in town, and the ancient stones of Luxor Temple and the souk reward a considered wardrobe. For men, long trousers are simply the norm here: the PP Trousers 100% Linen in White, with a Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Beige Cream, cover the temples, the tombs and the souk without a change. For women, the PP linen blouse in Orchid with full-length trousers is the town outfit; the Amelia linen dress shirt waits for the hotel garden and for dinner on the west bank.

The tombs themselves are close and still inside, and the sun on the open ground between them is direct. A hat matters more than any shirt. Long sleeves of certified Belgian linen are cooler here than they sound, because the fibre lets air through and does not hold warmth against the arm. Our piece on linen for desert stays goes further into why a covered arm can be the easier choice in dry heat.

The balloon is its own small occasion. The baskets are crowded, the ground crew work by torchlight and the air above the Theban hills is sharp until the sun clears the horizon. A Male Linen Shirt in Grey goes up under a knit, and the knit comes off once the basket touches down in a field of cane. The hot-air balloon piece covers the dawn flight in more detail.

From Luxor, dahabiyas, the two-masted sailing houseboats of the Nile, take four or five nights to reach Aswan, far more slowly than the large cruise boats. Life on deck is unhurried and dress relaxed: a Cuba Linen Shirt in Grey and the PP Casual Linen Trousers in Black for the men; for the women on board, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Oyster on the private deck, with the PP linen blouse kept for the village stops along the bank. The PP linen shorts stay in the case until the hotel garden in Aswan.

Evenings in Luxor are cool enough for a second layer from December to February, and dinner is often outdoors, under heaters, on a terrace facing the river. For men, the Monte-Carlo Male in Oatmeal with the PP Trousers 100% Linen in Sapphire Blue reads correctly at the old hotels on the Corniche. For women, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Violet with a wrap of her choosing is enough. The sound and light show at Karnak runs after dark, and the stones are colder than the air by then.

Read more: What to Wear in Cairo  ·  Linen for Winter Sun