The Phenomenon of sun perpendicularity in some Egyptian churches and its investment in tourism. (The archaeological Church of the Archangel Michael in Kafr al-Deir as a model.)

This research deals with the phenomenon of the sun perpendicularity to the archaeological Church of Archangel Michael in Kafr Al-Deir in Minya Al-Qamh, Al-Sharqia , due to the great importance of this phenomenon from the historical and touristic perspectives. Although it was discovered nine years ago,, it was not paid attention nor invested in tourism, like what happens with the same phenomenon in the Temple in Abu Simbel, or Qarun Palace Temple in Fayoum. , No attention has been paid to the church, which in addition to receiving the unique phenomenon, is an archaeological place which is remarked with a great archaeological and touristic value. Hence, this study was divided into two sections, The first is the theoretical framework to discuss the place and times of orthogonality (sun perpendicularity) on the church and the steps to verify the phenomenon by the professors at the Astronomical Research Institute. The papers analyses how to employ the phenomenon of orthogonality in the field of tourism. As for the second section, it is the practical framework which deepened on several visits to the church and asking several questions to the study community through survey forms. As a result,, , the strength and weakness aspects should be addressed in order to transform the church into a tourist destination. Recommendations were issued to reform the infrastructure and improve services were directed to the governmental sectors , and to the Tourism Authorities in Al-Sharkia and to the Ministry of Antiquities and to tourism companies.