This obelisk is in an area called Matareyya. The obelisk was erected by Pharaoh Merenptah of Egypt's New Kingdom. Legend has it, that when the Holy Family arrived to Cairo, they rested under a tree in Matereyya next to this obelisk. The tree is still alive today, and is a place of pilgrimage for Christians from all over the world. Matareyya is now a sha'bi (popular) neighbourhood.