The most recent ancient obelisk to be re-erected is the 17 metre tall Ramses II obelisk in Tahrir Square, the main city square of Cairo, having been reassembled from eight blocks discovered at Tanis in the late 19th century.[1] Defending against criticism, Dr Khaled El-Anany, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, stated: “When we go to European capitals like Rome or Paris or London, and also Washington, we see that they use Egyptian obelisks in decorating their major tourist squares, so why do we not do the same?”[8]