It was a ritual for the Pharaohs! Twice a year, the sun aligns with the face of Pharaoh Ramses II’s statue in the inner sanctuary of the temple of Abu Simbel . Today, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism live streamed the occasion on YouTube.
The solar alignment occurs on the date of Ramses II's birthday, February 22, and the date of his coronation, October 22. The latter date also signified the start of the harvest season for Ancient Egyptians.
Ramses commissioned the Abu Simbel temple between 1279 and 1213 B.C out of piety to the gods, to mark his own deification and to celebrate his domination of Nubia. It is carved into sheer stone, located 275 kilometers southeast of the city of Aswan. The original temple was positioned on the bank of the Nile. A UNESCO-sponsored project relocated and raised it some 60 meters in the 1960s to save it from flooding caused by the construction of the giant Aswan Dam .
Thousands of tourists flock to the temple to see the solar alignment spectacle. Now, thanks to the Internet, anyone can watch it from anywhere in the world at any time using a desktop or mobile device.
Posted by Tarek Abdalla, Head of Marketing, Middle East & North Africa
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