CAIRO: Egypt witnessed on Wednesday the phenomenon of sunrise on the axis of the (Karnak) temples in Luxor governorate, in the south of the country, which occurs on December 21 of each year, marking the start of the winter season.

It's officially winter. The secretary-general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr Mostafa Waziri said in a statement that "the sun shone on the axis of the temples at exactly six o'clock and 31 minutes in the morning (according to the local time of the capital, Cairo), starting from the eastern gate, passing through the holy of holies and all the axes of the temples until the gate. He added that more than a thousand Egyptian and foreign tourists were keen to be present in front of the Karnak temples in Luxor, in the south of the country, since the early morning, to witness this unique phenomenon.

It is noteworthy that the Egyptian-French Center for the Study of the Karnak Temples was the first to monitor this phenomenon as it has been scientifically proven that the main axis of the Karnak temples is directed to the east, and that the sunrise on the main axis of the temples is evidence of the official start of winter. - KUNA