Zahi Hawass calls for London to return Cleopatra’s Needle obelisk if the city will not restore the monument

Zahi Hawass is unhappy. The self-styled “Indiana Jones” of Egypt is complaining that Cleopatra’s Needle obelisk is not being restored or receiving the attention it deserves on the banks of UK’s River Thames, he tells the National. Hawass suggests that the 21-metre high obelisk — which was given to the UK as a gift from Khedive Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1819 — should be the centerpiece of a binational celebration next year. “If they don't care, they should return it,” the one-time antiquities ministry boss said, adding that he felt “ashamed” when he visited the monument. The obelisk was given to commemorate Lord Nelson and Sir Ralph Abercrombie’s victories over the French in the battles of the Nile and Alexandria during the Napoleonic Wars.