The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle: Part 2

“Lateef, that cannot happen,” my mother told me. She said people do not grow up to draw pictures. They grow up and work in the fields or in the quarries. Or they tend to the animals. Or they build pyramids and other things for our people.

Pyramids are much more famous than obelisks, but I like obelisks better. Pyramids represent death and dying and sadness. They are built to be tombs for the pharaohs. But obelisks represent life. They point toward the sun.

We call the sun Ra. Ra gives us life, strength, health, and happiness. All creatures are alive because of the light from Ra. We could not exist without it. So each day we face the heavenly orb in the sky and pray, asking Ra to continue giving us the gift of life on earth. We make obelisks and point them to the sky to honor Ra.

There is big news that I have just heard — a large obelisk is due to arrive in Heliopolis from the granite quarries of Aswan. This is true. It will take a number of days to get here. I am filled with anticipation.

The pharaoh, the great Thutmosis III, the son of Ra, the son of the sun, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, the military genius, the powerful and glorious god on earth who gives all life, stability, and strength is coming to Heliopolis! He is coming here to witness the raising of his obelisk on our shores and to celebrate his third decade of reign.

Thutmosis III is a builder of temples, palaces, and monuments, and he became the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty when he was just two years old.

Sadly, I have other news to report. Mother found the drawings I had hidden under my bed. She was very angry and threw all my papyrus out the window.

The labors of hundreds of strong men were needed to pull the obelisk off the barge. Using ropes, they dragged it onto the shore next to the Temple of the Sun. That is where it will one day stand, and pilgrims will be able to come here and worship the pharaoh long after his death.

I could not believe my ears. Drawings for the pharaoh? Me?
“What kind of drawings?” I asked.
“The pharaoh wants you to draw the hieroglyphs that will be carved into the obelisk.”

Omari told me he had come to explain what I will need to draw.
“The obelisk is not just a tribute to the sun, Ra,” he told me. “It is also a tribute to the pharaoh. Thutmosis III is the son of the sun. The obelisk will be a monument proclaiming the glory of his conquests and a testament to his accomplishments.”

Omari told me he had come to explain what I will need to draw.
“The obelisk is not just a tribute to the sun, Ra,” he told me. “It is also a tribute to the pharaoh. Thutmosis III is the son of the sun. The obelisk will be a monument proclaiming the glory of his conquests and a testament to his accomplishments.”

Omari told me he had come to explain what I will need to draw.
“The obelisk is not just a tribute to the sun, Ra,” he told me. “It is also a tribute to the pharaoh. Thutmosis III is the son of the sun. The obelisk will be a monument proclaiming the glory of his conquests and a testament to his accomplishments.”

The Horus, Strong-Bull-Appearing-In-Thebes, he of the Two
La Goddesses, Enduring-of-kingship-like-Ra-in-heaven, Bodily
son of Atum, whom the Mistress of Heliopolis bore to him,
Thutmosis, whom they created in the temple in the beauty of their
members, knowing that he would exercise enduring kingship
throughout eternity, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Men-
kheper-ra, beloved of Atum, the great god, together with his
Enneat, granted all life, stability, and dominion like Ra for ever.

The Horus, Strong-Bull-Appearing-In-Thebes, he of the Two
La Goddesses, Enduring-of-kingship-like-Ra-in-heaven, Bodily
son of Atum, whom the Mistress of Heliopolis bore to him,
Thutmosis, whom they created in the temple in the beauty of their
members, knowing that he would exercise enduring kingship
throughout eternity, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Men-
kheper-ra, beloved of Atum, the great god, together with his
Enneat, granted all life, stability, and dominion like Ra for ever.

The Horus, Strong-Bull-Appearing-In-Thebes, he of the Two
La Goddesses, Enduring-of-kingship-like-Ra-in-heaven, Bodily
son of Atum, whom the Mistress of Heliopolis bore to him,
Thutmosis, whom they created in the temple in the beauty of their
members, knowing that he would exercise enduring kingship
throughout eternity, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Men-
kheper-ra, beloved of Atum, the great god, together with his
Enneat, granted all life, stability, and dominion like Ra for ever.

The Horus, Strong-Bull-Appearing-In-Thebes, he of the Two
La Goddesses, Enduring-of-kingship-like-Ra-in-heaven, Bodily
son of Atum, whom the Mistress of Heliopolis bore to him,
Thutmosis, whom they created in the temple in the beauty of their
members, knowing that he would exercise enduring kingship
throughout eternity, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Men-
kheper-ra, beloved of Atum, the great god, together with his
Enneat, granted all life, stability, and dominion like Ra for ever.

I will work very hard to make sure my pictures match the meaning of the words the pharaoh wishes to convey.

Every day I go to the Temple of the Sun to deliver new pictures to Omari and then watch the sculptors carving them into the obelisk.

The sculptors are working very hard. They know that if they make one small mistake, they will be flogged.

Pharaoh was hoisted up so he could stand on the obelisk. All of our eyes were on him.

Hundreds of men pulled Cleopatra’s Needle up the sand hill.
I could see their glistening sweat and hear their groans as they strained at the ropes. Very slowly, the sled that the obelisk lay upon began to slide up the slope of the hill.

I asked a woman next to me why they were doing this. She told me that tying the pharaoh’s son to the obelisk will ensure that the workers will be very careful when they pull it to its upright position. If they make a mistake and the obelisk topples over, it will break and the pharaoh’s son will die.

The strength of hundreds of men — motivated by the pharaoh and the fear of killing his son — was somehow overcoming the weight of the obelisk.

The obelisk continued tilting upward. When it was standing fully upright on its flat base, the men were ordered to stop pulling on the ropes. There were deafening cheers and congratulations from the people all around. The obelisk, for the first time, stood up on its own.

We had almost finished our meal when there was a knock at the door. It was Omari.
“Before he returns to Cairo,” he told me, “the pharaoh wishes to meet you.”
“Me?” I asked, disbelieving. “The pharaoh wants to meet me?"