Near Victoria Embankment Gardens on the west bank of the River Thames stood an obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle. The London Eye was directly across the river, and as long as the river was not shrouded in that thick fog, it could be seen from the top of the London Eye.
It had actually been built by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III. Two hundred years later, Ramses II had his own military victories inscribed upon the obelisk as well.
In AD 12, the Romans moved it to Alexandria and placed it in a temple built to commemorate Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony, which was why it came to be known as Cleopatra's Needle.
In 1819, Egypt's governor presented the obelisk to Britain to commemorate the British army's victory over France in the Battle of Alexandria. Its counterpart stood in Central Park in New York.
Obelisks were usually erected in pairs on either side before a temple, rather than standing alone.
As a "return gift," Britain gave Egypt a large bell.
It resembled Big Ben greatly. The difference was that Big Ben was still working to this day, while the bell, which had crossed the seas and endured countless hardships before being assembled in Egypt, stopped working after only two days at Saladin Citadel.
Britain never sent anyone to repair it, and the people in Egypt at the time did not know how to repair it either. Later, it seemed to have been forgotten, and so it remained "broken" for more than a hundred years.
As early as the twelfth century, mansions already lined the banks of the River Thames, with many bishops and senior ministers living along its shores.
It was also in the twelfth century that the Crusades were underway. Besides heading to Jerusalem, the Crusaders also went to Egypt.