sun festival at abu simbel

Witness the Sun festival at Abu Simbel on 22 February and 22 October
The great Sun Temple of King Ramses II at Abu Simbel was created to revere the mighty pharaonic ruler King Ramses II. In a fit of precision and architectural egotism, Ramses II had the entire temple carefully angled and oriented in order that the sun’s rays would align twice a year on his date of his ascension to the throne (in February) and on his birthday (in October) and illuminate the inner sanctum of the temple. This incredible natural phenomenon provides for a most spectacular sight, which has come to be referred to as the Sun Festival of King Ramses II.

Crowds pack in to the temple before sunrise and watch the shafts of light slowly creeping through the rock hewn inner Hypostyle Hall (replete with further statues of the king) and through to the Sanctuary. Significantly, the sun illuminates statues of Amun-Re, Re-Herakhte and Ramses the god; whilst the statute of Ptah, the god of darkness, remains in the shadows.

Famously, the temple was re-located in a multi-million dollar operation in 1972, further up from the shoreline of Lake Nasser, which had threatened to erode the foundations of this monolithic temple complex. For this reason, the sun now strikes a day later than Ramses had originally planned, though the event itself is no less stunning.

We offer you the chance to see the phenomena in conjunction with our Chase the Sun - 9 days and Sun Chasing - 13 days. tours departing on Saturday 18th October 2008 and Jewel of the Nile tour departing Friday 16th October 2009

You can see this festival on the below tours

Tour name

Departs

Chase the Sun - 9 days
Starts/Ends: Cairo 4 - 5
Cairo, the pyramids, the Sun Festival at Abu Simbel in honour of the mighty King Ramses ll, Nile felucca cruising, Valley of the Kings and Queens and Thebes (Luxor) - an action packed 9 days! 18 Oct 2008

Sun Chasing - 13 days
Starts/Ends: Cairo 4 - 5
The Sun Festival for the mighty King Ramses ll at Abu Simbel, Nile felucca cruising, Valley of the Kings and Dahab, as well as the intoxicating city of Cairo in all its glory - what better way to spend a holiday!
18 Oct 2008

Jewel of the Nile: 10 days sun festival departure Starts/Ends: Cairo 5 superior
Putting on the ritz at some of Egypt’s smartest hotels and cruising the River Nile in style aboard a luxury 5 star Nile cruiser, you’ll see the best of legendary Egypt and attend the Sun Festival at Abu Simbel!
16 Oct 2009

On the go is a boutique travel company specialising in cultural and adventure tours in Egypt. Fun and informative group tours of Egypt offering weekly departures at realistic prices include highlights such as Cairo and the pyramids & Sphinx at Giza, Saqqara, Aswan, the Temple of King Ramses at Abu Simbel, Nile felucca cruising, Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak, Dahab on the Sinai-Red Sea and the Western Desert oases of Bahariyya including the White Desert, Farafra and Kharga. We also offer city breaks to Cairo city, specially designed family tours, Christmas and Easter tours. We are experts at planning tailor-made holidays to Egypt.