Cleopatra's Needle - City of Westminster, London, UK
N 51° 30.510 W 000° 07.220
30U E 699829 N 5710306
The famous Cleopatra's Needle monument on the Victoria Embankment was a gift to the British Government from the Ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, made in 1819.
Waymark Code: WMRY6G
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/21/2016
Views: 8
A bronze plaque on the side of Cleopatra's Needle along the Victoria Embankment proves that this artifact was the gift of the Viceroy of Egypt to the British Government. The plaque reads as follows:
"This Obelisk, prostrate for centuries on the sands of Alexandria, was presented to the British Nation A. D. 1819 by Muhammad Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, a worthy memorial of the Distinguished Countrymen Nelson and Abercromby"
The following additional information is from the "A View on Cities" (
visit link) website:
"London's obelisk was presented to the city in 1819 but remained in Alexandria for nearly sixty years until the British government could afford to move it. The United Kingdom received the gift from Mehemet Ali, the then-viceroy of Egypt.
It cost £10,000 to eventually bring Cleopatra's Needle to London and the bill was footed by local anatomist and philanthropist Sir William James Erasmus Wilson. The obelisk capsized in a storm in the Bay of Biscay on the way to London, killing six crew members, Cleopatra's Needle, London who are commemorated on a plaque at the obelisk. However, it was rescued and taken to Spain for repair, eventually arriving in London in January 1878."