Understanding あるとは珍しい


> 「おおっ、こんなぜいたくな物がうちにある **とは** 珍しいね」  
>  Oh, finding such luxurious presents at our place is unusual.

I'm a bit confused by the と in this sentence. I can only imagine that it is a
conditional と. I guess " **if** there are presents at our place it's unusual"
makes sense but it seems awkward and it feels to me that it would be equally
awkward in Japanese.

Presumably the は is just there for emphasis?

I would have been more comfortable if it had been ある **こと** は ( **the fact
that** there are presents at our place is unusual) with は just as a normal
topic marker. Would this be wrong?

