User:Dave Light/Al-Faliki

Mahmoud Pacha Hamdi (Al-Faliki)

Adjacent to the mausoleum of Mahmoud Pacha Hamdi (known as El-Falaki, or the astronomer) is the mosque built to his name.

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Mahmoud Pacha El-Falaki (1815-1885) is a 19th century Egyptian astrologist and a pioneer of the Egyptian Renaissance in the mid 19th century.

Born in Gharbiya, west of the Nile Delta to a fellah (peasant) father, Mahmoud moved to Alexandria in the company of his elder brother where they both studied at the Royal Maritime School. Mahmoud later joined the Mohandeskhana (School of Engineering).

Upon graduation from the Mohandeskhana in 1839, Mahmoud's inquisitive intellect caught the attention of Ali Pacha Mubarak who nominated Mahmoud for a Royal Scholarship to study in France. In France, Mahmoud studied mathematics and French and was soon able to publish Arabic translations of books on differentiation and integration.

In 1842, Mahmoud decided to study astronomy and practised at the Royal Rassd-e-khana (Observatory). During that time, Mahmoud wrote academic papers from his experiences and observations which earned him another royal scholarship to study in France once again between 1850 and 1854. While in France, Mahmoud excelled in astronomy and geophysics and returned to Egypt nine years later (1959) during the reign of Khedive Said.

He was elected to the membership of The Egyptian Scientific Association before he was commissioned to observe the solar eclipse in the 1860s. He quickly made news in the Royal Court and the Khedive Said who bestowed the title of Pacha unto him.

Mahmoud Pacha El-Falaky was asked to head royal and ministerial commissions discussing the dissemination of education and knowledge. He was appointed Minister of Labour in the short-lived Mahmoud Samy Al-Baroudi government (1882) and then Minister of Knowledge in the Nobar Pacha government (1884-1888) until his death a year later.