Tourists both foreign and domestic witnessed a biannual sun alignment on Monday, which lighted up the statue of King Ramses II in Aswan’s Abu Simbel temple. Hundreds of tourists queued in order to watch the sunlight penetrate sixty meters into the temple, lighting up the king’s face. The sun also shone on the statues of the sun gods Re-Horakhte and Amon-Re, seated next to Ramses II. Ramses II was the third pharaoh of Egypt’s 19th Dynasty. He is regarded as the most powerful and celebrated pharaoh of Egypt, and was the husband of the famous Queen Nefertari.

Source: Egypt Independent February 22, 2021 11:17 UTC