A conversation with Cecily Hilsdale (McGill University) about the history and ritual functions of Egyptian obelisks, from ancient Egypt down to Rome, Constantinople, and beyond. What do obelisks mean to say and how do they function in their architectural settings, especially in the hippodrome of Constantinople? How do they project imperial ideologies? The discussion is based on Cecily's study of 'Imperial Monumentalism, Ceremony, and Forms of Pageantry: The Inter-Imperial Obelisk in Istanbul,' in The Oxford World History of Empire, v. 1: The Imperial Experience (Oxford University Press, 2021) 223-265.