The 2027 total solar eclipse combines an extraordinarily long totality with likely excellent viewing conditions: the path of totality runs through North Africa with its cloud-free skies, warm August weather, and readily available peppermint tea.
But where to go? There are many good candidates, but the best place might be Egypt: The country of pharaohs, pyramids, and papyrus will see the point of greatest eclipse, about 50 km (30 miles) east of Luxor.
But the astronomical geometry is only half the story. During the August 2027 eclipse in Luxor, a 4000-year-old site of Sun worship will fall dark—with the Sun high overhead.
Eclipse in Luxor: Quick Facts
Times given as local times. Luxor, Egypt, follows EEST (UTC+3).
The eclipse will reach its maximum at 13:05 (1:05 pm) local time: The Moon will completely cover the Sun’s disk while it’s almost at its highest point in the sky.
Where to Watch the Eclipse in Luxor
Luxor lies at the edge of the desert. It’s a dry place, and the sky is notorious for being cloud-free—so almost any place in Luxor should give you a great view of the eclipse.
But for this eclipse, one place stands out: Karnak. The vast temple district of the ancients houses a site that connects to this eclipse almost too well—the sanctuary of Amun-Ra, the hidden god of the Sun.
Why Karnak?
When you visit Luxor, you stand in the ruins of ancient Thebes , once considered the richest and most powerful city in the ancient world. You can see the ancient Egyptians’ connection to the Sun to this day—in the tombs of the pharaohs and their temples on the west bank of the Nile, and on the walls and pylons of the sacred site of Karnak on the east bank.
In the heart of the temple district Karnak lies the precinct of Amun-Ra, revered as lord of the Sun. He was so influential in ancient Egypt that the whole city was once called Niwet-Amun, city of Amun; he was the embodied force of the universe visible in the Sun’s disk.
On August 2, 2027, the Sun will be hidden—right here.
What Totality Will Look Like
From Luxor, you will see the Moon’s shadow racing toward you, coming out of the Western Desert. The Valley of the Kings drops into darkness first; within seconds, the shadow crosses the Nile and Karnak. Then, for more than six minutes, the black disk and a solar corona hang almost overhead while the desert horizon remains bright in every direction.
Where are the Egyptian records of eclipses?
While ancient Babylonians and ancient Chinese kept meticulous records of eclipses, one of the world’s oldest civilizations has almost nothing to show for it: It seems like the ancient Egyptians almost never recorded eclipses.
How is that possible? Eclipses might have been seen as a bad omen, heralding catastrophe. One exceptional negative mention of an eclipse points in that direction: A hieroglyphic inscription at a gate in Karnak can be translated as “even though the sky did not swallow the moon, civil war broke out.” It shows that the absence of a bad omen might have been reason enough to mention it.
There is one extraordinary surviving record of a datable solar eclipse from pre-Islamic Egypt. It is an ostracon, a shard of pottery that someone used as an early post-it note. It documents the partial eclipse of 601 CE, witnessed at Djeme, a settlement on the west bank, across the Nile from Karnak.
Can You Watch from Karnak?
The Precinct of Amun-Ra is part of the Karnak Temple Complex, now an open-air museum. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities sells tickets.
If Karnak is accessible, there is hardly a more remarkable place in Luxor to watch the eclipse than the temple of Amun-Ra himself: Walk through massive stone gates, along more than a hundred great cylinders of sandstone that disappear upward, many the height of a modern building.
Deep inside the temple of Amun-Ra stands Hatshepsut’s obelisk exactly where it was erected 3490 years ago. The thirty-meter, 300-ton monolith of rose granite, once capped in glittering metal, still points toward the place in the sky where the Sun will disappear .
On August 2, 2027, Amun-Ra’s city, his temples, and his mythical body in the Sun will vanish in darkness.
One Final Tip
The eclipsed Sun will hang almost overhead. So if you don‘t want to crane your neck to look straight up into the sky, try looking down instead: soak in the reflection of the vanishing sun god in the Sacred Lake, a large, deep groundwater basin where the sun god’s bark once floated and where his sacred geese roamed.
Few places will put you closer to the heart of the 2027 eclipse—or give the darkness quite so much history. The next solar eclipse in Luxor happens in 2053, but only as a partial eclipse. Use your chance!