Abu Simbel｜The Romance of the Desert, the Pharaoh's Eternal Love

Throughout Egypt, there are thousands of 'temples,' but if we were to name the most famous one, it would undoubtedly be the Abu Simbel Temple built by Ramses II! Abu Simbel is located on the west bank of the Nile, near the border between Egypt and Sudan. Its name comes from the local indigenous language, meaning 'Mountain of the Gods'! The most talked-about aspect of Abu Simbel is the annual events on October 21 (allegedly the coronation day of Ramses II) and February 21 (allegedly the birthday of Ramses II). On these two days, the rays of the sun pass through the entrance of the temple, travel through a 67-meter-long corridor, and illuminate three statues inside: the sun god Ra-Horakhty, Pharaoh Ramses II, and the god Amun. Additionally, there is a statue of the silent creator god Ptah. This spectacle not only demonstrates the ancient Egyptians' precise observation of the cosmic order but also highlights their reverence and worship of the sun god. In 1964, due to the construction of the Aswan Reservoir, the Abu Simbel Temple needed to be relocated 60 meters higher. To preserve the temple's significant feature—the solar festival phenomenon (where sunlight illuminates the sanctuary statues twice a year)—scientists from around the world put in tremendous effort. However, due to the inability to precisely match the ancient Egyptians' astronomical knowledge, the sunlight now enters a day earlier than before, and the god of the underworld, who was always shrouded in darkness, is now finally bathed in sunlight. If you visit the Abu Simbel Temple now, there is a plaque on the right side of the entrance that clearly records all of this. There is a sentence on it that I particularly like, which says, 'We have not only restored history; we have actually helped humanity build the future.' Ramses II Temple