This magnificent structure has been built in honor of Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III. 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. The structure is recognizable by its elegance and by its special use of pink granite and calcareous sandstone. 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. 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. #aga #assouan #aswan #begum #desert #désert #egypt #fleuve #grave #khan #mausoleum #mausolée #nil #nile #river #tombe #égypte
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