The sun aligned morning on the statue of King Ramses II of Tuesday 22 February, 2022. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Facebook page.
The ministers were accompanied at the event with Governor of Aswan Ashraf Attiya and top ministry and government officials.
Indeed, this morning, in a spectacular scene, the sun aligned this morning on the statue of King Ramses II in the massive temple as part of the unique celestial phenomenon that happens twice a year — once on 22 February and once more on 22 October.
As hundreds watched in awe, the alignment started at exactly 6:20am, as the sun was rising, and lasted for 20 minutes.
During the phenomenon, the sun’s rays snuck through the corridor of the temple, eventually reaching the chamber where the Holy of Holies lies, which is a statue of king Ramses II sitting among three other giant statues of Ra-Horakhty, and the gods of Amun and Ptah, which were all worshiped by Ancient Egyptians in Pharaonic times.
Egyptologists and archaeologists believe that the event signalled the start of the farming season in October and the harvest season in February for Ancient Egyptians.
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