Winter solstice’s first rays of sun align with ancient Luxor temple

The winter solstice is a special day at the Ancient Egyptian temple complex at Luxor on the Nile River.

On the northern hemisphere’s shortest day of the year, the first rays of sunlight in the early morning align perfectly with the main axis of the city’s Temple of Amun-Re.

As the sun bathes the temple, it enters the Holy of Holies which houses a statue of Amun, the god of air and fertility.

“The sun’s rays fall directly over the Holy of Holies in the Karnak Temples, a unique and historic event that confirms the greatness of Egypt and the Egyptians for thousands of years,” says Luxor’s deputy governor, Hesham Abu Zeid.

The astronomical phenomena coincides with the beginning of the germination season in Ancient Egypt, when farms begin to work the fields.

Each year, this event at the more than 2,000-year-old temple is witnessed by thousands of local and international tourists.

“We just enjoyed watching the sun rise over the beautiful pavilions here, we’re drinking and the beautiful sunlight, we’re enjoying this amazing sacred site,”  says American tourist Elizabeth Seraphine.

Luxor sits on the banks of the Nile River about 650 kilometres south of the capital, Cairo.

It is home to some of Egypt’s most dramatic ancient temples and pharaonic tombs, including that of King Tutankhamun.