Abu Simbel Sun Festival

took place on 22 October

The annual Abu Simbel Sun Festival took place on 22 October.The area around the Abu Simbel temples witnessed the phenomenon of the sun crossing over the sanctuary of the Temple of King Ramses II. With appropriate health and safety measures in place,tourists were able to visit the temple and enjoy watching this unique phenomenon, which is repeated twice every year, on October 22nd and February 22nd. The sun's rays infiltrate  the temple, to reach the Holy of Holies, which is about sixty meters away from the entrance, and illuminate  a platform with the statue of King Ramses II sitting next to the statue of the gods Ra, Amun, and Ptah, although the sun does not fall perpendicularly into the face of the statue of "Ptah", which was  considered by the ancient Egyptians the god of darkness.