Standing obelisk of Hatshepsut at the temple of Amon, Karnak, Egypt

"Queen-king Hatshepsut donated four obelisks to the god amun at Karnak. Two have disappeared entirely, and of the two which were placed between the fourth and fifth pylons only the northern monument (the tallest standing obelisk in Egypt) still remains in place. The inscriptions on this obelisk make clear the queen's reasons for donating the monuments and also stress the fact that each obelisk was made from a single piece of granite and gilded with great amounts of the finest gold. Each face of the monument begins with names and titles of the queen. The inscriptions of the western and eastern faces are of particular interest, as they show the obelisks were dedicated to the god Amun in memory of Hatshepsut's father, Tuthmosis (Thutmose) I." [Wilkinson R., 2000: The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson]. "A village on East bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt; with Luxor, Karnak is on the site of ancient Thebes; location of temple of Amen (Amun), considered one of the finest examples of early New Kingdom religious architecture; also has many Middle Kingdom remains." [The J.P.Getty Fund: Thesaurus of Geographic Names]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was working on "The Nile" project and traveled to Africa in April 1962, visiting Egypt.