EgyptAir announces 50% discount on Aswan flights

CAIRO – 21 October 2018: EgyptAir announced a 50 percent discount on flights to Aswan on Oct. 19 to make it easier for tourists who wish to watch the sun passing over king Ramses II’s face in Abu Simbel temple.

Also, additional 12 flights to Aswan will be arranged as a huge number of travelers is expected to visit Aswan to witness the phenomenon.

In February 2018, the sun illuminated the face of Ramses II in Abu Simbel temple in south Aswan for 20 minutes in a phenomenon that takes place twice a year.

For most of the year, the inner sanctum of the main temple of Abu Simbel is shrouded in darkness.

On February 22, a day celebrating the king's birthday and again on October 22, a day celebrating his coronation, sunlight illuminates the seated statues of the sun gods Re-Horakhte and Amon-Re, as well as a statue of king Ramses II. The statues sit in the company of the Theban god of darkness, Ptah (who remains in the shadows all year).