Tomorrow, October 22, Egypt and the whole world will witness the occurrence of the phenomenon of the sun’s illumination to the Holy of Holies of the Great Temple of Abu Simbel. This phenomenon occurs twice in the year.
The Great Temple of Abu Simbel:
The Great Temple of Abu Simbel is considered one of the greatest temples in the world. It is an architectural masterpiece carved into the mountain. The specialists believe that what King Ramses II and his engineers did can be considered a great challenge at that time.
This Temple is located 280 km south of Aswan. It was built to announce the victory of King Ramses II in the Battle of Kadesh. This temple was discovered in 1812 by the Swiss explorer Johann Burckhardt.
This temple is dedicated to King Ramses II as a god and other ancient Egyptian gods as Ra-Hor-Akhty, Amun Ra, and Ptah. The length of the facade of the temple is 35 meters, and its height is 30 meters. There are 4 huge statues of King Ramses II with a height of 20 meters. These statues represent the king sitting on the throne wearing the double crown. Around his leg, there are statues of his wives and children. Also, there is above the entrance a statue of the god Ra-Hor-Akhty.
The Great Temple of Abu Simbel Design:
When you enter the temple, you will find the hypostyle housing statues taking the Osiris form.
Then at the end of the temple, you will find the Holy of Holies containing 4 statues of Ra-Hor-Akhty, Amun Ra, Ptah, and King Ramses II as a god.
This great temple was threatened with drowning after the construction of the High Dam. Fortunately, UNESCO helped Egypt in saving it. The temple was cut into pieces and moved for reconstruction in a site 200 meters away. The new site is higher than the old one with 65 meters. This process took 4 years, from 1964 to 1968.
The most important feature of the great Abu Simbel temple is the phenomenon of the sun’s perpendicularity to the Holy of Holies.
What is this phenomenon?
Currently, the sun illuminates the holy of holies of the temple on February 22 and October 22, but before moving the temple, the sun illuminates it on February 21 and October 21.
The Holy of Holies contains 4 statues, but the sun lights only 3 statues (Ra-Hor-Akhty, Amun Ra, and King Ramses II as a god), except the statue of the god Ptah because he is the god of darkness in ancient Egyptian myths.
There are many opinions about this phenomenon
There is an opinion that says that the date of this phenomenon refers to the beginning of the planting season and the harvest season.
While another opinion believes that this date refers to the date of the birth of King Ramses II himself and his coronation date.
Whatever opinion is correct; this phenomenon certainly indicates to the genius of the ancient Egyptians in both engineering and astronomy fields.
The Sun Festival of Abu Simbel Temple:
Early in the morning, people gather to wait for the sunrise and watch the sun’s rays reach the holy of holies of the temple and illuminate the 3 statues. This phenomenon takes 20 minutes.
This phenomenon is accompanied by great celebrations, where the people of Aswan perform their traditional dance with folk songs.
you can see Sun Festival of Abu Simbel Temple with Abu Simbel Sun Festival Tour
