Agha Khan Mausoleum

The Aga Khan was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, one of the founders of the All-India Muslim League, and even briefly served as President of the League of Nations in 1937. Aga Khan was the spiritual leader of the Ismailis, a Shi’ite sect, which mostly developed in India. Though this spiritual leader died in 1957, his mausoleum still stands and can be seen above the white villa where he once lived. Aga Khan III was extremely wealthy. In fact, his people say that on his birthday in the year 1945 he was weighed in diamonds, which he then gave to his followers in a spirit of generosity.

The mausoleum was built according to his wife Yvette Blanche Labrousse’s wishes. She was also known as Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan and then eventually given the title Mata Salama. When Aga Khan knew it was his time to die he decided to build a location for his burial place; it would be somewhere along the West Bank of the Nile River. When her husband died, she oversaw the construction of the Aga Khan Mausoleum, and finished the project in 16 months with the help of famous architects and contractors.

The structure is recognizable by its elegance and by its special use of pink granite and calcareous sandstone. The interior of the building features light colors and gloriously red carpet that is still regularly maintained. The entrance to the mausoleum requires a hard climb on a stepped path, followed by an esplanade from which a flight of steps comes up. Etiquette requires that all visitors keep silent out of respect.

After Aga Khan’s death, his surviving widow continued to leave a red rose on his white Carrara marble tomb. Living in the villa, she managed to do this faithfully until her own death in 2000. Even to this day, as per request of Mata Salama, a red rose still finds its way to the sarcophagus.