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Egyptian Obelisks Reflect Egypt’s Great Civilization


Fri 17 Jan 2020 | 12:55 PM
Ali Abu Dashish

The famous statue of King Ramses II has been moved from Ramses Square to his new eternal residence at the front of the Grand Egyptian Museum in order to attract visitors from Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners.

According to Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Hussein Bassir, it is known that the great Egyptian obelisks are spread in a large number of cities and capitals of the world, such as the famous Obelisk of Ramses II, located in the famous Concorde Square in the French capital, Paris.

The obelisk of King Ramses II was transferred from the garden on the island to the new city of El Alamein, where it was placed there during the era of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, to Tahrir Square heart.

It became a famous archaeological and tourist landmark; Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners flock to the square to visit it, take memorial photos and short films next to it and market it through social media. They also make documentary and narrative films in its surroundings.

Bassir said that the Pharaonic obelisks were skyscrapers in ancient Egypt; their importance, beauty and glory, as well as its artistic are still maintained, as well as their historical value through the hieroglyphic texts that the pharaohs kings recorded on them of titles and events.

The kings were proud of in their accomplishments for the good Egyptian people who ruled it with love, compassion and work for it, as well as defending the blessed land of Egypt.

Also, they preserved the integrity of its lands, worked to develop it and prosper its land and supplied the temples with everything they need, as part of the pharaoh duties in ancient Egypt.

On other hand, Dr. Magda Abdullah, the history and Archeology Professor in Egypt and the Near East at Kafr El-Sheikh University, said that Egyptian obelisks are rare artifacts that are unique to ancient Egyptian civilization; these artifacts cover many fields and are scattered in various regions in the modern world.

The ancient Egyptian knew her as "Tehn" and called it "Obelisk" in Greek, when the Europeans found it stretched pointed towards the sky, they called it "Needle", while the word "obelisk" means in Arabic the "big needle" used in knitting large fabrics such as sails and tents.

The missing obelisk site in Aswan, which cracked when it was cut, shows how stones were cut, then it was dragged from the quarry to the Nile shore with skis and cylindrical blocks of wood and oxen to be transported by ships to the site to be erected.

It was depicted on the walls of the Deir el-Bahari temple of Hatshepsut, being transported by two ships through the river.

Noteworthy, the large ship with about thirty small boats around were pided into three groups in order to facilitate the pulling of the river to its location.

The ancient Egyptian took into account the water and air currents, the size of the ship and the weight of the obelisk and the groups of workers in order to facilitate the task.

Also, in establishing the obelisk location, experts dug a huge hole placed by the base to raise the obelisk, which was pulled on a sand hill from the top of the base.

When Romans ruled Egypt, the Roman emperors admired the Egyptian obelisks and transported them to their fields in Rome; there are 13 huge obelisks, one of which is height in San Giovanni square in Rome, it's weighs about 455 tons and dating back King Thutmose III reign.

In addition, the world is decorated with Egyptian obelisks as ambassadors for the greatness of the Egyptian civilization in France, England, America, Turkey and other countries.