Source: CCTV.com

02-28-2007 10:25

Thousands of tourists have been flooding to the great temple at Abu Simbel in Egypt to watch the sunrise illuminate the temple's inner sanctum and with it the statue of the Pharaoh, Ramses the second. But all is not quite as it seems with this apparently timeless phenomenon.

The twice yearly festivities in Abu Simbel, in southern Egypt close to the Sudanese border, begin, as is traditional, with performances by Nubian dancers and musicians.

Around 6,000 tourists visit Abu Simbel during the festival, with just a lucky few getting inside for the fleeting 20 minutes that the statues are illuminated.

Mohammed Hamed, senior inspector of antiquities at Abu Simbel, said, "The astronomical phenomenon represents the agricultural season, and the cultivation season for the ancient Egyptians. Certainly astronomically, the temple has been designed on the 23 latitude and when the sun moves from the south to north it is at a moderate time of Spring, and this lasts for one day on 21st February. And when the sun moves from north to south it is at a moderate time of Autumn."

The 3,200-year-old temple is a marvel of ancient technology and a tribute to the scientific sophistication of the ancient Egyptians. But it was nearly lost forever by the country's need to construct a Hydro Electric dam on the Nile.

In order to save it, the Egyptian government asked UNESCO to help it move the temple. It was cut into thousands of small blocks and reassembled piece by piece 65 meters higher up the valley, on the banks of the newly created lake.

Over forty years later, tourists like Mariana from California are still arriving in their thousands to be awed by this perfectly preserved wonder of the ancient world.

 

Editor:Liu Fang