Cleopatra’s Needle

  The obelisk rises above the trees like the uncurling index finger of something ancient reaching for the distant stars. The monument is inscribed in the faded hieroglyphs of a dead language, and at its base are four distinctly more modern black stone crabs that seem to be supporting the seventy-foot pillar between them. Beyond the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where thousands of artifacts lay in glass display cases under 24-hour security, the obelisk that has seen the rise and fall of over a hundred empires stands erected almost as an afterthought, accessible by a single path extending from the web of hidden wonders that is Central Park. Built around 1,450 BC, the 220-ton Egyptian obelisk is one of three stone obelisks gifted to Paris, London, and New York City in 1869. The gift marks one of the first times in history that New York City was given the same distinction as a major city, alongside its two older siblings. As a part of a deal to ensure better trade with Egypt, the obelisk was brought over to New York City as more than just another statue in Central Park to go with Alice in Wonderland and legions of dead […]