Unfinished Obelisk – An Incomplete Wonder

Your first look around the grim grey stone quarry might not be very impressive. Straight-edged meaningless boulders of various shapes and sizes will be strewn all around you. Wooden planks lay haphazardly to make makeshift bridges between the rocks like snakes and ladders. The scene around you is rather austere with the sunlight beating down heavily from the Aswan sky. But don’t be depressed, for in all that bleakness lays the incomplete story of the largest obelisk which will be worth your visit.

Situated in an ancient stone quarry, from where some of the finest granites were excavated, Unfinished Obelisk although unfinished is the silent bearer of a time when female pharaohs rose to power in the world of male pharaohs. Ordered by Hatshepsut, the second known female pharaoh of Egypt, if this obelisk did get completed to see the light of day, it would have been the largest obelisk ever. At a staggering length of 43 meters, it is nearly one-third larger than all the obelisks ever commissioned to be built.

As you take your time to absorb the structure of the Unfinished Obelisk, the perfect shape appears before you as if revealing its true marvel. In all its harshness this huge block of rock is impressive. Standing out clearly in all its isolation, the Unfinished Obelisk is a perfect picture even with all the visible cracks that resulted in an incomplete work of wonder.

Although the work on the Unfinished Obelisk was abandoned due to these obvious fissures that appeared while extracting it, it still holds a huge importance in the history of Egypt as it reflects a time when women’s power was respected and recognized. For you, wonder should never seize that a female pharaoh dared to dream which is bigger, better and definitely bolder during a time when male power dominated the world.