…but when it is, it"s pretty spectacular. This tiny lakeside settlement"s Great Temple of Ramesses II was positioned on the orders of that powerful pharaoh so the inner sanctum (in this picture, that"s the small room at the very back) is lit by the sun only twice a year. On February 22 and October 22 (thought to be Ramesses" coronation and birth dates, respectively), the first light of dawn illuminates the sanctuary and three statues within: one of Ramesses, one of the sun god Ra, and one of the chief god Amun. A fourth statue depicting the underworld figure Ptah is permanently shrouded in shadow.
It s not always sunny in Abu Simbel…
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
A monastery in the mountain
-
Three cheers for polar bears!
-
Great Backyard Bird Count
-
Arches National Park anniversary
-
World Meteorological Day
-
Happy Lunar New Year!
-
East River crossing
-
Let s ride! It s Roller Coaster Day
-
Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
-
Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia
-
Glacier cave in Iceland
-
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
-
An endless journey
-
Chicagohenge
-
It s time for spring
-
It s Republic Day in India
-
Snow buntings take flight
-
Blue Lagoon spa, Grindavík, Iceland
-
White Sands National Park turns 90
-
Fall color sweeps across the West
-
Life in the slow lane
-
World Art Day
-
An uncommonly cool critter
-
Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
-
Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
-
Happy World Whale Day!
-
Blue linckia sea stars in Papua New Guinea
-
Feel the spray in Monterey
-
Sparkling ice diamonds on a black sandy beach
-
World Space Week begins