Although about 30 ancient obelisks are currently well maintained and stand at the public places (plaza, square, park, etc.), but only 5 remain at the ruins of Ancient Temple in Egypt.
People Also Ask
Only about 30 such obelisks are still in existence worldwide; figures vary between sources with different definitions of extant Egyptian obelisks.
For of the 21 ancient obelisks still standing, Egypt itself can claim fewer than five. Rome boasts 13, all snatched from the Land of the Pharaohs in Roman times, and the rest are spread from Istanbul to New York City.
While the honor of the world's tallest obelisk belongs to the Washington Monument (standing 555 feet, or 169 meters, tall), Long believes the most famous obelisk on the planet is likely the Vatican Obelisk at the center of Rome's St. Peter's Square.
The earliest surviving obelisk dates from the reign of Sesostris I (1918–1875 bce) and stands at Heliopolis, a suburb of Cairo, where once stood a temple to Re.
The first obelisks were built by ancient Egyptians. They were carved from stone and placed in pairs at the entrance of temples as sacred objects that symbolized the sun god, Ra. It's believed that the shape symbolized a single sun ray.
During the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt, the French attempted to steal the two obelisks and take them back to Paris. The campaign ended before they were successful, but the French did not give up then. A mere 30 years later, the obelisks were “gifted” to the French by the Ottoman monarch Muhammed Ali Pasha.
In 1830 the Sultan and Viceroy of Egypt Mehemet Ali decided to offer the two obelisks standing in front of the Luxor Temple (Thebes, Egypt) to King Charles X of France. It was a gesture of friendship and gratitude for the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs by Champollion.
Today we may picture obelisks as lone monuments, but they usually stood as pairs before the pylon gates that marked temple entrances. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on the four sides of the stone would name the reigning pharaoh and include a dedication to the god of the temple.