Abu Simbel Sun Festival

For most of the year, the inner sanctum of the main temple at Abu Simbel is shrouded in darkness. On two specific days, traditionally the anniversary of the birthday and coronation of pharaoh Ramses II, a shaft of sunlight pierces the gloom, illuminating statues of gods and the king in the temple’s inner sanctum.

 

Temple of Abu Simbel

On February 22, a day celebrating the king’s birthday and again on October 22, a day celebrating his coronation, sunlight illuminates seated statues of the sun gods Re-Horakhte and Amon-Re, as well as a statue of king Ramses II. The statues sit in the company of the Theban god of darkness, Ptah (who remains in the shadows all year).

 

Abu Simbel Sun Festival

The sun illuminating Abu Simbel is considered to be one of the oldest Egyptian Sun Festivals, it dates back to the pharaonic era and has endured more than 3,200 years of Egyptian history. It draws thousands of tourists to Abu Simbel to watch this ancient tribute to a pharaoh whose name is still known up and down the Nile Valley and the world over for his military exploits and monumental building projects. Nowadays, it became a touristic attraction due to the high dam and the moving of the temple.

During the spectacle, people stand in two rows to let the sun rays reach the statues in the shrine.

The Unfinished Obelisk, in Aswan

The Unfinished Obelisk is a huge obelisk yet to be finished. If finished, it would have measured around 41 m and would have weighed nearly 117 tons. Its importance lies in the fact that it carries inscriptions that explain the methods the ancient Egyptians used in cutting and sculpting obelisks.

 

The Unfinished Obelisk, in Aswan

Egypt Nile Cruises

The pharaohs sometimes visited their Nile-side temples by royal barge, and boat traffic along the river remains the most  dramatic way to reach the monuments. Since 1869,  when Thomas Cook and Son launched  their Upper Egypt excursions, steamships were popular with those who wished to travel in style, and see the sites at a comfortable pace. While some of today’s cruise ships are nearly as well-appointed as the royal barge, there are packages to suit every budget, offering itineraries of varying lengths.

 

Egypt Nile Cruises

Several jewellike monuments are located on the banks of the river between Luxor and Aswan, including the Temple of Khnum at Esna, the Temple of falcon-headed Horus at Edfu, and the  temple of the  crocodile  god Sobek at Kom Ombo. All may be visited by car from Luxor, as well as by cruise ship to Aswan, south of Luxor, whose attractions  also merit an extended stay.

Note:

From Aswan you may embark on a (3 to 4) night Lake Nasser cruise to Abu Simbel, visiting the monuments of Nubia along the way.

Luxor Temple

This magnificent structure, know in ancient times as the “Harem of the South” is
connected to the Temple of Karnak by a 3Km processional Avenue of Sphinxes, like
Karnak, Luxor’s temple was dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khonusu,
whose statues stood here during the Opet festival.

Even though Luxor Temple was expanded several times throughout the ages, it’s much
more compact and coherent than Karnak, perhaps because its core was built by just one
pharaoh, Amenhotep III. The walls are decorated with some of the finest carvings in
Egypt, protected because much of the temple was buried until 1885. Before excavations,
only the heads of the Ramses II colossi and the tips of the obelisks stuck out above the
pile of debris on which Luxor village was built. The village was removed bit by bit as the
excavations started.

 

Luxor

 

Luxor at night

 

Luxor temple

 

 

Luxor temple (at Night) 

Luxor temple (entrance)

 

Avenue of Sphinxes leading up to Luxor Temple

 

Courtyard of the Luxor Temple

 

The Avenue of Sphinxes leads to the monumental fist pylon built by Ramses II, which
was once fronted by two obelisks and six colosii of the man himself. The pylon is
decorated, as so many other Egyptian temples, with Ramses II’s favorite story the battle
of Qadesh. Beyond the pylon, the large Court of Ramses II is surrounded by two rows of
papyrus-bud columns, interspersed with more statues of the king.

Beyond the second pylon the impressive Processional Colonnade of Amenhotep III, with
huge papyrus columns, was the model for the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. The
craving on the walls was added by Tutankhamun and gives a picture of the Opet
celebration: One wall shows the outward journey, the other the return of the procession.
At the end of colonnade is the temple’s most impressive part, the Great Sun Court, also
built by Amenhotep III, its fine decorations developed over the millennium between the
reigns of Amenhotep and Alexander the Great.

Unfortunately this court has suffered badly from the rising water level and a major
restoration project is underway. Behind a columned portico, used as a chapel by Roman
soldiers, lays the temple’s inner sanctuary, with Alexander the Great’s Sanctuary of
Amun’s Barge and Amenhotep III’s Birth Room, and his nurturing by goddesses. The
bedrock on which this part of the temple was built was believed to be the site where
Amun was born.