Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- Cleopatra killed herself by being bitten by an asp in order to avoid being captured by her rival Octavian, who would have paraded her through the streets of Rome. Although Octavian returned to Rome victoriously the pages of history remember Cleopatra as the last Queen of Egypt who changed human history.

I have searched amongst the Greek monuments that can be found in Egypt in order to discover what Cleopatra left behind with regards to antiquities.

The surprise was that although it appeared that Cleopatra was preoccupied with affairs of love and war and intrigue, she left behind a number of antiquities, including a temple in honor of Julius Caesar, and ancient historians confirm that two obelisks stood outside of this temple, which are today called “Cleopatra’s Needles.” These obelisks had been created in the famed granite quarries of Aswan, and then taken to Heliopolis. These obelisks were displayed in front of the Heliopolis temple and were later transferred to the city of Alexandria by Egypt’s Ptolemaic rulers, and the Roman Emperors who ruled after them.

Following the death of Cleopatra, Octavian, who later took the name Augustus, rebuilt this temple, and it was later turned into a Church during the Christian era. One of the obelisks was taken to England in 1877, and it stands to this day on the Thames Embankment, while the other was taken to the city of New York where it stands in Central Park close to the Metropolitan Museum.

However what is strange is that there is not one statue of Queen Cleopatra, and thanks to historians we know that such statues did exist. However there is an image of Queen Cleopatra on the walls of the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, in which she is depicted with her son Caesarion…while there is also a boat rest-stop at the Temple of Kom Ombo whose construction is attributed to Cleopatra, and a maternity house in the Temple of Dendera, and a carving at the Louvre Museum that is allegedly of Cleopatra VII.

As for the critical question, that is; where is Cleopatra’s tomb?

It is very difficult to answer this, and this requires collecting a lot of information and analyzing it, for we know that she built a beautiful palace in the royal district of Alexandria, and she built a tomb for herself next to the Temple of Isis. I have – along with a number of divers – recovered the archway of the Temple of Isis, with ancient historians confirming Cleopatra’s palace and tomb was in close proximity.

It is certain that Cleopatra would have been extremely particular with regards to choosing her final resting place and that of Mark Antony, and some scholars believe that Cleopatra’s tomb today lies under the waters of the Mediterranean, however there is still hope that this was all part of an elaborate ploy of the Queen’s, and that she chose a secret location for her tomb, where she was buried alongside her love Mark Antony.