State-run TV will broadcast live event

Sun shines on the holy statues of Ramses II Cairo - Arab Today Head of the Tourism Promotion Authority Ambassador Nasser Hamdi said Monday the event of the sun falling on the face of Ramses II at Aswan's Abu Simbel Temple will be aired live on Tuesday at 12 o'clock (Cairo local time) for the first time to all world countries exporting tourism to Egypt. In statements on Monday, Ambassador Hamdi said the event of the 20-minute unique astronomical phenomenon that occurs twice during the year will also be transmitted via you Tube and the website of the Tourism Ministry to affirm the stability and security of tourist sites in Egypt and reflect on how ancient Egyptians excelled in the science of astronomy. For the first, the state-run TV will broadcast live the event, he said. Also, the Egyptian embassy in Germany will also air this event on giant screens to be placed in important squares in Germany. Nearly 300 tourists will witness this phenomenon inside the temple. The sun falling perpendicularly on Ramses II face at Abu Simbel Temple, a rare astronomical and engineering phenomenon, happens on February 22, the day he ascended to the throne and October 22, his birthday, each year. On these two days of the year, shafts of sunlight enter the temple and illuminate the statues of the great King Ramses II himself, and the two sun gods to which he dedicated the temple -Re-Horakhte and Amen-Re who are seated beside the Theban god Ptah, the god of darkness. Source: MENA