The Friday Photos: Egyptian London

Lindsey
By Lindsey Last edited 134 months ago
The Friday Photos: Egyptian London
Embankment Sphinx by Martin de Kauwe
Embankment Sphinx by Martin de Kauwe
Memorial to The Imperial Camel Corps and Cleopatra's Needle on Embankment by Stuart-Lee
Memorial to The Imperial Camel Corps and Cleopatra's Needle on Embankment by Stuart-Lee
Egyptian Seat Ornament on public bench on Embankment by Mark Cornick
Egyptian Seat Ornament on public bench on Embankment by Mark Cornick
A Crystal Palace Park Sphinx by Past London
A Crystal Palace Park Sphinx by Past London
Islington Sphinxes and Obelisks on Richmond Avenue by curry15
Islington Sphinxes and Obelisks on Richmond Avenue by curry15
Bronze Cats: Carreras Cigarette Factory - "The black cat was the logo of Carreras Cigarettes, designed by M.E and O.H Collins with A.G Porri in 1928, just a few years after Howard Carter had discovered the tomb of the Tutankhamun." Photo and info by curry15
Bronze Cats: Carreras Cigarette Factory - "The black cat was the logo of Carreras Cigarettes, designed by M.E and O.H Collins with A.G Porri in 1928, just a few years after Howard Carter had discovered the tomb of the Tutankhamun." Photo and info by curry15
Detail of Faience Decoration: Carlton Cinema Essex Road by curry15
Detail of Faience Decoration: Carlton Cinema Essex Road by curry15
Kilmorey Mausoleum: St. Margaret's Road Twickenham by curry15
Kilmorey Mausoleum: St. Margaret's Road Twickenham by curry15
Egyptian Avenue, Highgate Cemetery by Amanda Farah
Egyptian Avenue, Highgate Cemetery by Amanda Farah
Egyptian Head, Kensal Green Cemetery, W10 by victorian london
Egyptian Head, Kensal Green Cemetery, W10 by victorian london
40ft Anubis in Trafalgar Square in 2007 for the Tutankamun exhibition. Should have put him in the fourth plinth. Photo by Simon Crubellier.
40ft Anubis in Trafalgar Square in 2007 for the Tutankamun exhibition. Should have put him in the fourth plinth. Photo by Simon Crubellier.
A visitor to Olafur Eliason's Sun installation in Tate Modern, 2003, walks like an Egyptian. Photo by Taro Taylor.
A visitor to Olafur Eliason's Sun installation in Tate Modern, 2003, walks like an Egyptian. Photo by Taro Taylor.

Following a Sphinx spotting thread on our Facebook page this week, we were inspired to search our Flickrpool for traces of ancient Egypt in London.

Embankment is a hub for Egyptian influences, with Cleopatra's Needle and its flanking sphinxes and ornamental benches. In Embankment Gardens, the memorial to the Imperial Camel Corps pays tribute to those who lost their lives in action in Egypt, as well as Sinai and Palestine. Thanks to Martin de Kauwe, Stuart-Lee and Mark Cornick for sharing their photos in the Londonist pool.

The terraces at Crystal Palace Park are flanked by huge stone Sphinxes, some in great condition, as you can see in Past London's photo. Others are off-limits and crumbling to bits, or in danger of defacement, as Ronald Hackston's colourful shot from 2009 shows.

Curry15 has contributed four photos to this set, thanks to his eye for detail and handy copy of Pevsner. Click these links to find out more about his pictures of Richmond Avenue, the former Carlton Cinema on Essex Road, the former Carreras Cigarette Factory on Hampstead Road and Kilmorey Mausoleum in Twickenham.

Visitors to Highgate Cemetery can't fail to be impressed by the Egyptian style tombs in Egyptian Avenue, photographed here by Amanda Farah. And this Egyptian head in Kensal Green cemetery was spotted and snapped by victorianlondon.

Many thanks also to Simon Crubellier for his photo of the magnificent Anubis in Trafalgar Square back in 2007 and Taro Taylor for her Walk Like an Egyptian capture.

Oh, and as a bonus extra, this is what an Egyptian Goose looks like, courtesy of Stephen I*liffe. These are migratory birds that really shouldn't be found in Palmers Green in the middle of winter. But there you go.

Many thanks to all our photographers for sharing their photos in the Londonist Flickrpool.

Last Updated 18 January 2013