Downtown DistrictAlexandria Governorate
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Arts & cultureThe Statue of Nubar Pasha

Arts & cultureThe cosmopolitan city

The Statue of Nubar Pasha

Near Sayed Darwish Theatre, Nubar Pasha’s statue commemorates Egypt’s first prime minister.

The cosmopolitan city
Unveiled in 1904, according to a museum record
Opening hours
Outdoors, at any hour
Tickets
No entry fee
Administrative section
El Attarin — in front of the opera house
Open in maps(External link)Its place in time

Image credits

What sets it apart

A seated figure in a tarboosh, his hand on a tablet inscribed in French “Justice is the foundation of all government”, a maxim repeated on the pedestal.

9 documented memories

Its place in time

The cosmopolitan city · 1860 – 1950

The district at the height of its plurality: Greek, Italian, French, Levantine, Jewish and Armenian communities; the tram, theatres, hotels and cafés; classical, Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings.

  1. Fouad Street — the Canopic Way331 BC — the Canopic Way
  2. Roman Theatre at Kom El DikkaRoman era, most likely 4th century — uncovered in 1964
  3. Shallalat GardensOn the line of the 9th-century wall, under Ibn Tulun
  4. Remains of the Alexandria City Wall9th century — under Ibn Tulun
  5. Misr Railway StationThe railway from the 1850s — present building 1927
  6. Mahatet El Raml & Saad Zaghloul SquareFrom 1863 — the Ramleh line’s terminus
  7. The Alexandria Tram1863
  8. Eliyahu Hanavi SynagogueRebuilt in the 19th century — foundation plaque dated 1881
  9. Graeco-Roman Museum1892
  10. The Statue of Nubar PashaUnveiled in 1904, according to a museum record
  11. The Windsor Palace Hotel1906, by the hotel’s own account
  12. Cavafy MuseumCavafy’s home from 1907 to 1933
  13. The Lycée Al-Horreya1909–1910 — the Shatby building from 1913
  14. Sayed Darwish Theatre — Alexandria Opera House1921 — the Mohamed Ali Theatre
  15. Alexandria National MuseumLate-1920s palace — museum since 2003
  16. The Cecil Hotel1929
  17. Museum of Fine Arts1954
  18. Bibliotheca Alexandrina2002
  • Ancient Alexandria331 BC – 7th century AD
  • The Islamic centuries7th century – 1805
  • The Mohamed Ali revival1805 – 1860
  • The cosmopolitan city1860 – 1950
  • Contemporary Alexandria1950 – today
The Berenice II mosaic on display at the Graeco-Roman Museum
Before it in timeGraeco-Roman Museum1892
The Windsor Palace Hotel front and its iron balconies on the corniche
After it in timeThe Windsor Palace Hotel1906, by the hotel’s own account

Highlights

  • 1The seated statue
  • 2The French maxim on the tablet and pedestal
  • 3The Sayed Darwish Theatre behind it
  • 4Its closeness to Nabi Daniel Street

The story

  1. Nubar Pasha (1825–1899) was an Egyptian statesman of Armenian descent who headed Egypt’s first council of ministers in 1878 and returned to the office twice more.

  2. The statue, by the French sculptor Denys Puech, shows him seated, his left hand resting on a tablet inscribed in French “La justice est la base de tout gouvernement” (justice is the foundation of all government); the same maxim appears on the pedestal.

  3. According to a museum record, it was unveiled in 1904. It first stood in the Municipal Gardens — today’s Shallalat Gardens — where E. M. Forster saw it in 1922. Dismantled after the 1952 revolution and kept in storage for years, it reappeared around 2000 at a new site: the entrance of the opera house, the Sayed Darwish Theatre, on Fouad Street.

  4. Its position near the theatre places this political biography among other cultural landmarks, including Cavafy’s house and the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue on Nabi Daniel Street.

Memories of the place

Every memory is taken from a published, documented source.

  1. January 1825

    Nubar was born at Smyrna (İzmir), the son of an Armenian merchant.

  2. 28 August 1878

    A khedivial decree created Egypt’s first responsible cabinet, headed by Nubar; he returned as premier in 1884 and again in 1894.

  3. January 1899

    Nubar Pasha died in Paris, aged seventy-four.

  4. 1903

    According to a museum record, the French sculptor Denys Puech made the statue in 1903, seated on a chair and holding a tablet inscribed in French “La justice est la base de tout gouvernement” (justice is the foundation of all government).

  5. 1904

    The statue was unveiled, according to the same museum record.

  6. 1922

    E. M. Forster saw the statue standing in the Municipal Gardens — today’s Shallalat Gardens — visible from the tram, and wrote that “the tarboosh is too large but the general effect dignified”.

  7. After 1952

    The statue was dismantled after the 1952 revolution, along with that of Khedive Ismail.

  8. Around 2000

    The statue reappeared at a new site in the city, with no explanation given; today it stands at the entrance of the opera house, the Sayed Darwish Theatre.

  9. 14 February 2021

    Hay Wasat began a campaign with the antiquities restoration department to maintain and clean the city’s heritage statues, including Nubar Pasha’s at the opera house.

Around it

© OpenStreetMap

Nearby landmarks

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