Mausoleum of the Aga Khan

The view from the terrace of the venerable Old Cataract Hotel leads across Elephantine’s southern tip to the west bank of the Nile, on a rocky outcrop of which is the tomb built by Aga Sultan Sir mohammed Shah (1877 – 1957).

The Aga Khan III was leader of the Ismaili Hodja sect (a branch of Shiite Muslims), who also worshiped him as their hereditary imam. In honor of his elevated status, his followers used at one time to present him annually with his own weight in gold, a practice his adherents have decided is no longer in keeping with the times.

A broad outdoor staircase leads up from the banks of the Nile to the domed mausoleum, which is based on the Guyushi Mosque near Cairo and decorated inside with polished granite. The tomb remained unfinished at the time of the Aga Khan’s death, and his remains could not be interred in the splendid tomb decorated with Koranic inscriptions until 1959. Below the mausoleum, built in neo-Fatimid style, is the white villa named Nur el –Salam (light of peace) of the Begum, who died just some years ago and was laid to rest alongside her husband.