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Location: Paris Obelisk (Paris, France) Height: 22.83 meter Weight: 227 tons Red granite The Paris Obelisk was the first obelisk in modern time to be taken out of Egypt. A pair of obelisks were erected before the Luxor Temple between the thirteen and fourteenth century by Ramesses II. The one on the right was brought to Paris and the other on the left still stands at the temple. After Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, the civilization of Ancient Egypt fascinated many Europeans. In 1822, a French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion discovered the key to the hieroglyphic script on the Rosetta Stone. This discovery opened a new page in the history of Egyptology. In 1831, the king of the France, Louis-Phillippe I received the obelisk from the Viceroy of Egypt Mohammed Ali. When France hosted the Soccer World Cup in 1998, its opening ceremony took place in Place de la Concorde. The Paris Obelisk, which stands in the middle of the place, had its tip gold-plated (see the photo on the right above, taken by my daughter, Yoshiko).
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