/Abu Simbel

4 hour drive into the desert with 175 other buses, vans, etc. speeding and running to rush and witness something that happens twice a year. Estimated around 5,000 tourists were there to see the sunrise that shines on the face of Ramses II statue inside of his temple. The first time is on Ramses II coronation day, (Feb. 22), and second on his birthday, (Oct. 22). The image below the panoramic is a sequence from when the sun began to rise, (we had to stay outside until the sun got high enough), until when we got a chance to go in and witness it. The sunlight is for a brief moment on his statue.