Egypt's cultural elite and a range of other public figures turned up yesterday at a central Cairo mosque to pay tribute to renowned Egyptian actor Khaled Saleh, who died last week due to complications after undergoing open heart surgery.

At the entrance of Omar Makram mosque in downtown Cairo, where the wake was being held, actors Khaled El-Sawy, Mohamed Heneidy, Ahmed El-Saqqa and Tarek Abdel-Aziz stood alongside Saleh's family, accepting condolences from friends and colleagues.

Saleh, who died at 50, is most noted for a catalogue of remarkable roles in both theatre and film productions. His latest role was in El-Gezira 2, a film scheduled to premiere on 1 October.

The film's producer, Mohamed Hassan Ramzy, said at the wake: "I couldn't believe myself when [Saleh] agreed to take part in El-Gezira for such a nominal fee."

A number of state officials and various members of Egypt's cultural community gathered to celebrate Saleh's life.

Among the attendees were Culture Minister Gaber Asfour, politician Hamdeen Sabahi, renowned journalist Hamdy Kandil, TV presenters Mahmoud Saad and Yousry Fouda, and Albert Shafik, head of OnTV station.

Also present were famed actor Adel Imam, Mahmoud Yaseen, Samir Ghanem, Ahdy Sadek, Ezzat El-Alaily, Laila Elwy, in addition to Zeina, Hany Ramzy, Asser Yaseen and Basma, among others.

Saleh died at the Heart Centre of the Magdy Yacoub Foundation in the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan on Thursday 25 September. He was born in Giza on 23 January 1964.

Actors Elham Shahin (L) and Hala Sedki (R)