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Cleopatra's Needle
| Description: | One of three Egyptian obelisks, the others being in New York and Paris.... Read More Below |
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Cleopatra's Needle stands on the Victoria Embankment, close to the Golden Jubilee Bridges in the City of Westminster. Egypt's ruler, Muhammad Ali, presented it to the United Kingdom in 1819, in commemoration of Britain's victories at the Battle of Alexandria and the Battle of the Nile in 1801. In 1877, the obelisk was excavated from the sand under which it had lain for almost 2,000 years, transported to London encased in an iron cylinder, and erected at its current site in 1878. Two faux-Egyptian bronze sphinxes flank Cleopatra's Needle, which is about 21 metres tall, made from red granite, and covered with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Other Egyptian embellishments are found in the Victoria Embankment area. Only three other obelisks exist, one in Paris, one in New York's Central Park, and one remains in Egypt. The Embankment Underground station is close by, giving easy access to one of London's most famous landmarks.
More Information can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra%27s_Needle