In the Old Kingdom, from the Fifth Dynasty onward, temples were built to honor the god Ra, born in Heliopolis. An obelisk made of stone blocks would be in the center of such a temple. The oldest such monolithic obelisk dates back to the Middle Kingdom period. It was erected by Sesostris I, a 12th dynasty pharaoh. It is one of the only four obelisks that remain on their original locations to the present day. Obelisks were mostly built in the New Kingdom – always in pairs, in front of pylons (gateways to the inner parts of magnificent ancient Egyptian temples). The Egyptians made their obelisks from the high-quality Aswan granite. The fact they only had simple tools at their disposal can be seen as evidence of the ingenuity and persistence of the ancient builders. These two characteristics were also required for the transport and erection of obelisks. The Assyrians were the first ones to deprive Egypt of its obelisks – they took away two of them in the 7th century BC. The Romans managed to take away as many as 13 obelisks with them. The real “obelisk frenzy” took place in the 19th century; as a result, Egyptian obelisks now adorn the city squares in Rome, Istanbul, London, Paris and New York.