Right behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park is the oldest man-made object in New York. Known as Cleopatra’s Needle, it was presented as a gift to the United States in 1877 by Ismail Pasha the Khedive of Egypt, and placed in its present position in the park, and unveiled, in 1881.
The obelisk, which is part of a pair whose partner stands along the River Thames in London, was created in 1450 BCE by Pharaoh Thutmosis III for Heliopolis. Ramses the Great added the inscriptions in hieroglyphics 200 years later. In 12 BC the Romans moved the obelisks from Heliopolis to Alexandria to be decorations for the temple that Cleopatra built in honor of her beloved Marc Antony. (This is the reason the obelisks are referred to as “Cleopatra’s Needles.”)
Cleopatra’s Needle sits atop Greywacke Knoll in Central Park, where it is surrounded by benches and a landscaped plaza. Stop and rest there; enjoy the scenery while you take in the 180-ton, 68-foot tall, 3,500-year-old obelisk.
