Hundreds of visitors in the Egyptian city of Luxor rose before dawn on Sunday to watch the winter solstice sunrise align with an ancient temple.
As the sun appeared, its first light ran along the central axis of the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak, a moment that marks the shortest day of the year and the start of astronomical winter.
Many in the crowd fell silent as golden rays cut through the temple halls.
Luxor lies on the Nile, about 650 kilometres south of Cairo, and holds some of Egypt’s best known ancient sites.