Better yet, it was presented as a gift from the Egyptian government to the United Kingdom in 1819. Unlike many other Egyptian finds excavated since the 19th century, the obelisk wasn’t found and then moved by British archaeologists. How did Cleopatra’s Needle end up all the way in the streets of London from ancient Alexandria? Now for the million-dollar question you’re all probably dying to hear the answer to. ![]() The latter includes a walk over either of the two bridges which gives you great views of the obelisk and other famous London sights such as the London Eye. Other convenient stations in an approximately 10-minute radius are Covent Garden (8-minute walk), Leicester Square (11-minute walk) and Waterloo station (13-minute walk). The nearest Tube stations to Cleopatra’s Needle are Embankment (3-minute walk), Charing Cross (4-minute walk) and Temple (6-minute walk). Another fairly unknown gem in London is the free Petrie Museum which houses the world’s 4th largest ancient Egyptian collection! How to get to the London obelisk The London obelisk isn’t the only amazing great ancient Egypt site in London though. Just follow the embankment closely and you’ll get there, I promise! But if you’re coming from the opposite direction, it might be a bit tricky to find it due to the trees on the street. Locating the obelisk won’t be difficult when you arrive there after crossing these bridges as you would have seen where it is. You have a good view of it from either of these two bridges, but you can also get up close to it on street level. It’s located between Waterloo Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. You can find the London obelisk on the Victoria Embankment in the City of Westminster. Old drawing of Alexandria (c.1798) with two Cleopatra’s Needles visible, one standing and one buried in the sand. ![]() It was also Augustus who had the obelisk moved from its original location to this new site.Īlthough most of the temple was built during Cleopatra’s reign, I suspect that the decision to name it Cleopatra’s Needle thousands of years later, was mostly based on popularity.Īfter all, her name, image and history appeal to a much wider audience than those other pharaohs and Romans mentioned above. He kindly finished her work after her death, and very modestly dedicate it to himself instead. ![]() Sadly, she never got to witness its completion as she was defeated by Emperor Augustus beforehand. You see, the obelisk lay buried in the desert sand of Alexandria where Cleopatra had started building the Caesarium, a temple dedicated to Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. Well, there is some convoluted connection to this enigmatic pharaoh which would justify its name. So why is the obelisk then called Cleopatra’s Needle and not Tuthmosis’s Needle instead? She actually never had plans to use the obelisk in any way. Unlike you would suspect from its name, there are no hieroglyphics on it telling fabulous tales about Cleopatra. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on Cleopatra’s Needle London (Photo credit: James Stringer / Flickr)
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