Cleopatra's
Needles are a trio of obelisks in
London, Paris (Place de la Concorde)
and New York City. Each is made of
red granite, stands about 21 metres
(68 feet) high, weighs about 180 tons
and is inscribed with hieroglyphs.
Although the needles are genuine Ancient
Egyptian obelisks, they are somewhat
misnamed as none has any connection
with queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt.
They were originally erected in the
Egyptian city of Heliopolis on the
orders of Thutmose III, around 1450
BC. The material of which they were
cut is granite, brought from Aswan,
near the first cataract of the Nile.
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