Auction of Omar Sharif’s Memorabilia Raises Questions about Ownership

Egyptian actor Omar Sharif holds up the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29, 2003. Photo by Tony Gentile/Reuters
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif holds up the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29, 2003. Photo by Tony Gentile/Reuters
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Auction of Omar Sharif’s Memorabilia Raises Questions about Ownership

Egyptian actor Omar Sharif holds up the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29, 2003. Photo by Tony Gentile/Reuters
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif holds up the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29, 2003. Photo by Tony Gentile/Reuters

A French auction site announced it’s selling some of the late star Omar Sharif’s memorabilia, which raised question marks about the ownership of these pieces, and how did the site acquire them.

“The late star didn’t have an apartment or house outside Egypt where he could leave his memorabilia. He used to stay in hotels, carrying with him a black suit and some shirts. He always told me, (I have nothing that can be sold. I live in hotels, and I have one suit)”, Egyptian archeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawas, who was a close friend with the late star, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Hawas denied the allegations that some shared on social media, accusing his son, Tarek, of selling his father’s possessions, saying: “Some claim that his son, Tarek, is selling his father’s possessions, which is not true.”

Hawas noted that “Omar Sharif kept nothing when he was alive, and that his French private assistant used to take care of all his papers. So, I can’t confirm how these items got on sale, or whether they are real or fake.”

“The weirdest thing I could ever imagine to be auctioned is Omar Sharif’s coat, bank cards, and his membership card in the French equestrian union,” Producer Hossam Alwan wrote on Facebook, where he also shared a photo of these memorabilia, and one showing the late actor wearing the auctioned coat.”

Tarek, the son, commented on Alwan’s post, saying: “More information would be highly appreciated. I reported the incident to the police in Egypt and France. If those possessions are real, this means they are stolen.”

The memorabilia on auction include a coat that Sharif wore in the “Top Secret” film (1984), valued at 300 euros, alongside several personal cards, according to the auction site.

Critic Majida Maurice believes that someone stole Omar Sharif during his travels between the US and Europe, probably during his last illness, as the same thing happened with the memorabilia of Ahmed Zaki and Nour El-Sherif. “This is the worst time to sell the memorabilia of Omar Sharif, amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war which affected the whole world, including the wealthy countries. It’s a sad thing,” Maurice told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“I wish the ministry of culture could take care of this auction the same way it does with looted and recovered antiquities. History is not limited to Pharaohs. These memorabilia belong to great artists who have always made Egypt proud in international cinema events,” she added.

This incident reminded people of the Cinema Museum that was announced by the culture ministry years ago but never accomplished. “I believe the ministry of culture should work faster to establish the cinema museum, which could display the memorabilia of stars who influenced the Egyptian cinema. I hope Tarek Sharif could keep the memorabilia of his father and mother, late star Faten Hamama, because the cinema museum will open one day, and I expect it to lure a great audience,” Maurice said.

The auction is taking place seven years after the death of Omar Sharif (he died on July 5, 2015), aged 83, to conclude a journey that debuted in Egypt, with esteemed director Youssef Chahine, in “The Blazing Sun” film (1954), which he co-starred with Faten Hamama. The movie was followed by many leading roles in several films including “Lady of the Palace”, “Love River”, and “A man in our house”. Then, Sharif kicked off his international path in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), followed by “Doctor Zhivago”, “The Yellow Rolls-Royce”, and many others.



Iceland Engulfed by Volcanic Cloud

Smoke and lava rise from a volcano eruption near Reykjanes, Iceland, 19 July 2025. EPA/JAKOB VEGERFORS
Smoke and lava rise from a volcano eruption near Reykjanes, Iceland, 19 July 2025. EPA/JAKOB VEGERFORS
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Iceland Engulfed by Volcanic Cloud

Smoke and lava rise from a volcano eruption near Reykjanes, Iceland, 19 July 2025. EPA/JAKOB VEGERFORS
Smoke and lava rise from a volcano eruption near Reykjanes, Iceland, 19 July 2025. EPA/JAKOB VEGERFORS

Iceland experts on Monday blamed a lack of wind for a volcanic cloud that has lingered over much of the island since an eruption last week.

Two craters of a volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula spewed out the sulphur-packed cloud on Wednesday, AFP reported.

The thick haze has left the capital Reykjavik and the southwest of the country in a pollution red alert, the highest level in Iceland's monitoring system.

Hylnur Arnason of the Icelandic Energy and Environment Agency said that volcanic eruptions normally cause air pollution, mainly from the sulphur dioxide that is emitted. The gas becomes sulfate in the atmosphere, creating a volcanic fog.

"It's completely misty in large parts of the country," said Arnason.

"Usually in Iceland we have lots of wind, which would carry the pollution away, but right now we don't," the expert added. "Now it's kind of just sitting over the whole country."

Arnason said the gas was not toxic but could be an "irritant".

The environment agency has recommended that vulnerable people should remain at home and take precautions against the pollution. The wind was expected to start strengthening again late Monday.