Museum · Modern · 1962
A modern image of Egypt carved in stone
Cairo
The present Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum opened in 1962 in a building designed by Ramses Wissa Wassef as a permanent home for the pioneer of modern Egyptian sculpture. The collection shows how Mokhtar reworked ancient Egyptian, rural and nationalist imagery into a modern language.
Get to know this place
Museum · Modern · Built 1962
Away from the squares where his public monuments stand, Mahmoud Mokhtar’s museum brings you closer to the sculptor through works, tools and photographs. The present building, designed by Ramses Wissa Wassef, opened in 1962 after efforts to gather his work. It follows an artist who connected modern Egyptian sculpture with ordinary people and rural life.
Women’s faces, bodily gestures and scenes of work recur, while changing materials and scale give each figure a different presence. A small movement or tilt of the head becomes a subject worth examining in its own right.
Details worth pausing for
Models and studies for Egypt’s Awakening
Sculptures of the fellaha, rural life and Egyptian identity
Ramses Wissa Wassef’s museum design
Hours, prices and practical details
Prices in EGP and subject to change. Confirm with the venue before visiting.
Tips and things to know
Combine it with Cairo Opera House and nearby Gezira museums.
Check the cultural centre announcement if you are going for a temporary show.
Around one hour is usually enough for the permanent collection.
Good to know
Address and directions
5 Tahrir Street, Gezira, Cairo
Nearest landmark: Cairo Opera House
Nearest metro: Opera
Take Metro Line 2 to Opera station; the museum is beside the Cairo Sporting Club and Cairo Opera House on Gezira.
Get directions ↗The places closest to Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum, to make a day of it.
Cairo Opera HouseCairo, live on stage.100 m · about 1 min on foot
Cairo TowerCairo from above Gezira.400 m · about 6 min on foot
Andalus GardenA Nile-side pause between two design traditions.550 m · about 7 min on foot
Distances and times are estimates from where each place sits on the map; the actual route may differ.
Stops close to each other, in an order we tried. Follow it as it is, or make it your own.
Photo: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0
A suggested route · Family
An easy family outing in the city centre: a Nile-side garden, the Cairo Tower, Mokhtar’s sculptures and the Fish Garden grottoes children love. Ideal for weekends and Eid.
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