June 11, 2013

July 12, 2013

Nahdet Masr  (Egypt’s Awakening) by Mahmoud Mukhtar.

Mahmoud Mukhtar was born in 1891 and became a pioneer of modern sculpture in Egypt.  Mukhtar was the first Egyptian to display his sculpture at the Salon de Paris and won first prize for his model of Nahdet Masr. The same sculpture, 8 meters high and of rosy granite,  would be unveiled at Cairo’s railway station in 1928. Under rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser, it was relocated to Cairo University in 1955 where it stands today.

Mukhtar’s sculptures reflect post-World War I Egypt with its revolution against British occupation in 1919. The underpinning themes demonstrated in Mukhtar’s sculptures are still looming for Egyptian: independence, justice and constitution.

For more history about Nahdet Masr and all city statues in Cairo,  buy:Cairo’s Street Stories: Exploring the City’s Statues, Squares, Bridges, Gardens, and Sidewalk Cafés(AUC Press, 2008)

All Photographs and text are under international copyright laws. No re-use without the written permission of Lesley Lababidi 2023.