Aswan City
was the source of ancient Egypt’s finest granite, used to make statues and
embellish temples, pyramids and obelisks. The large unfinished obelisk in the
Northern Quarries has provided valuable insight into how these monuments were
created, although the full construction process is still not entirely clear.
One of the marvelous monoliths of Aswan is the majestic Unfinished Obelisk .The unfinished
obelisk in Aswan is viewed as a big disappointment for the ancient Egyptian
stone workers, however in the meantime a stunning location for tourists, as it
is one of the main Attractions of Egypt and the biggest obelisk found in the
Country.
Obelisks have been used by the Ancient Egyptians at the
entrances of their temples. Surprisingly, they were topped with gold in order
to catch the first rays of the morning light and only 28 Egyptian obelisks
remain standing, though only 6 of them are in Egypt.
Aswan
holidays, an obelisk is traditionally defined as a tall and slender monument,
with four sides converging to a mini pyramidal shape at the top. Though it's
technically a Greek type of architecture, there are few obelisks in Egypt, and
the unfinished obelisk of Aswan is known to be one of the largest among them.
It was constructed by Hatshepsut, the queen of Thutmose II, who also ruled
Egypt as a Pharaoh from 1478 to 1458 B.C., jointly with Thutmose III, who was
then only a child. This obelisk was perhaps built following the example of the
Lateran Obelisk that was initially built at Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt and
was later shifted to the Lateran square of Rome, near the end of the Roman
Empire. An obelisk is traditionally defined as a tall and slender monument,
with four sides converging to a mini pyramidal shape at the top. Though it's
technically a Greek type of architecture, there are few obelisks in Egypt, and
the unfinished obelisk of Aswan is known to be one of the largest among them.
Upon entering the quarry, steps lead down into the pit of the obelisk, where
there are ancient pictographs of dolphins and ostriches or flamingos, thought
to have been painted by workers at the quarry. The Northern Quarries are about
1.5km from town, opposite the Fatimid Cemetery. Microbuses will drop you within
a few minutes' walk.
Aswan excursions ,This obelisk provides much information about
the stone-carving procedures of ancient Egyptians, as the scratches of their
instruments can still be clearly seen on the rock surface.the unfinished
obelisk of Aswan ,It was constructed by Hatshepsut, the queen of Thutmose II,
who also ruled Egypt as a Pharaoh from 1478 to 1458 B.C., jointly with Thutmose
III, who was then only a child. This obelisk was perhaps built following the
example of the Lateran Obelisk that was initially built at Karnak Temple
Complex in Egypt and was later shifted to the Lateran square of Rome, near the
end of the Roman Empire.
This obelisk provides much information about the
stone-carving procedures of ancient Egyptians, as the scratches of their
instruments can still be clearly seen on the rock surface.
esides the unfinished obelisk, an unfinished,
partly worked obelisk base was discovered in 2005 at the quarries of Aswan.
Also discovered were some rock carvings and remains that may correspond to the
site where most of the famous obelisks were worked. Now the modern Egyptian
government has announced the whole place as an open museum and arranged to
preserve these structures as archaeological treasures of the country. This
quarry of Aswan probably also provided granite for other obelisks of Egypt, as
many residues of similar size are found here.
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