Sun Illuminates Face of Ramses II in Aswan
On Wednesday, February 22, the sun illuminated the face of the Ramses II statue in Abu Simple temple in south Aswan for nearly 21 minutes in a rare phenomenon that occurs only twice a year.
Aswan Governor Ashraf Attia and Deputy Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ghada Shalabi, joined by leaderships at the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry and Aswan governorate, witnessed this unique phenomenon. Also, over 6,200 foreign and Egyptian tourists gathered at Abu Simbel temple to watch the alignment of the sun on King Ramses II’s face.
The phenomenon started at 6:21 am and continued for nearly 21 minutes, said Director General of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities Abdel Moneim Saeed.
Widely regarded as a feature of pharaonic engineering, the biannual solar alignment sees the sun passing over the face of the statue of Rameses II at Abu Simbel, once on February 22 and again on October 22.
King Ramses II, known as Ramses the Great, the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt, led many military campaigns in the Levant. At 14 years old, Ramses II took over the reins of power from his father, Seti I.
