Sunrise lights Ramses II statue as crowds visit Abu Simbel
Some overseas visitors spent the night at the Egyptian site to watch the phenomenon, which occurs on 22 October and 22 February.
Hundreds of tourists traveled from around the world to Egypt's Abu Simbel temple for the 22 October sunrise, when sunlight illuminated the face of a statue of Ramses II. The illumination happens on just two dates each year.
Yasser Fouad, an Egyptian tour guide, said enthusiasm for seeing the phenomenon had prompted some foreign visitors to stay overnight at Abu Simbel.
The other annual occurrence is on 22 February. Some archaeologists believe the dates commemorate the pharaoh's birthday and coronation, although theories differ over how and when the phenomenon occurred before the temple was relocated.
Dating to the 13th century BC, the temple is among Egypt's principal archaeological attractions. Archaeologists moved and reconstructed it in the 1960's to put it beyond the reach of flooding caused by the Aswan Dam. Ramses II was ancient Egypt's third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty.
