Luxor is readying to celebrate the unique annual solar alignment phenomenon at the Karnak Temple Complex on Thursday morning, set to last from six to eight am.
The sun aligns with three major temples at the Karnak complex which sees the sun penetrates and enters the Column Hall.
This coincides with the official start of winter, the season of germination for ancient Egyptians.
It also showcases the astrological knowledge of the ancient Egyptians, who calculated the precise movement of the sun, and the movement of celestial bodies.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Society for Tourism, Cultural and Archaeological Development in Luxor Ayman Abu-Zaid said that the sun alignment is at the farthest angular degree from the level of the equator and is perpendicular to the Tropic of Capricorn.
The phenomenon is observed on December 21 or 22 each year, when the day at its shortest and the night is longest, he explained, with sun on that day at its lowest altitude at noon on the horizon.
Abu-Zaid added that this annual phenomenon displays the architectural wonders of the ancient Egyptians, who built temples facing the sun so that on this specific timing the the temples of Karnak and Deir al-Bahari will be perpendicular to the face of the god Amun, indicating a special occasion for the deity.
This confirms that the construction of Pharaonic temples is linked to natural phenomena, changes in seasons, and agricultural seasons, thereby serving as messages from the temple to farmers to determine the types of crops.
