El Anani inaugurates celebration of 200 years of Abu Simbel

CAIRO – 22 October 2017: Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani confirmed in a public statement on Sunday that celebrating 200 years of discovering Abu Simbel in November will prove to the world that the country is safe.

The celebrations will be part of the Solar Stabilization festival, which is set to host several calibers from around the globe and feature a number of culture events at Abu Simbel Temple, he added.

The Solar Stabilization is a rare phenomenon that has been occurring for 33 centuries and has occurred today, lasting for 22 minutes, where the sun illuminated the Temple of Ramses II.

This phenomenon occurs twice a year; on February 22 when ancient Egyptians celebrated the beginning of the agriculture and cultivation season, and on October 22 when ancients Egyptians celebrated the flooding season.

The Solar Stabilization phenomenon is proof that ancient Egyptians were pioneers in astronomy, sculpting, planning, architecture, and photography, Anani noted.