Sphinx - Egypt

There is a prevalent rumour that the nose of the sphinx was knocked off by cannon fired by Napoleon's soldiers. I was corrected by my guide who rather embarrassedly had to admit that it was knocked off by an Egyptian - Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr, a Sufi religious fanatic. In 1378 he found that Egyptian peasants were making offerings to the Sphinx to increase their harvest. So angered was Sa'im al-Dahr that he climbed up on the head and started to attack the nose.

It was perhaps not the best move, as the account goes that the same peasants he was angry at were equally as angry with him and duly lynched Sa'im al-Dahr for damaging their god.

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