Aga Khan Mausoleum in Aswan , Egypt

It is often said that the River Nile manifests its beauty at its best at Aswan, Egypt's most southern city, where white-sailed feluccas glide across the clear, blue water.

The residents of Aswan are friendly and less likely to hassle you than other cities in Egypt that attract large numbers of visitors. And large numbers there are. The warm, year-round climate and the tropical vegetation give the town a distinctly African feel. The next stop is Sudan. Of all the things to see in this delightful place, the most pleasant thing of all is just to walk and to take in the atmosphere.

The Great Mausoleum
The beautiful Fatimid-style stone mausoleum of the Aga Khan, then, which stands on a hill above Aswan, impresses as much by its simplicity as its grandeur, calling upon all who gaze on it to ponder the greatness of Allah (Arabic for: God) in a world that so often seems to forget Him.
Standing tall above the Nile like many an ancient Pharaonic temple, the mausoleum is the chosen resting place of His Highness Mawlana Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan III, the 48th Imam of the Isma`ili Muslims, who died in 1957.

"Egypt is the flag of Islam," he would say, and it was to Egypt that he would return in death. Having wintered in Aswan for many years because of its beauty and warm temperate climate, the Aga Khan wished to be buried there. He chose the site for his tomb, and his wife, the Begum Aga Khan, spent 16 months preparing the mausoleum. Its architect, Farid El-Shafei, chose to model it on the simple beauty of the many Fatimid tombs in Cairo's City of the Dead and in Aswan's own Fatimid cemetery.

From the landing stage at the foot of the sand-covered hill, the exterior of the mausoleum resembles as much a fortress as a burial place, with its high, stark walls of honey-colored sandstone standing right on the edge of the desert.
The small dome, atop the mausoleum, is the only clue that gives away the purpose of the building. The interior is more gentle, with a tomb of Carrara marble and a most beautiful mihrab, pointing out the direction of Makkah. The effect of the whole is calm and dignified, a suitable resting place for one so dignified. The very building, then, reflects both the strength and the gentleness of Islam.

A giant of a man, in every sense, the wealth of the Aga Khan III was legendary. On his diamond jubilee, the weight of his body in diamonds was distributed amongst his followers. He owned thoroughbred racehorses and had five Derby winners from his stables. He was the friend of kings and princes, Egypt's own President Nasser giving permission for the land in Aswan to be purchased for its intended use.

Although he died in our own age, the Aga Khan was born in another — in 1877. At the age of 20, he was made a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire by Queen Victoria. He was similarly honored by the German Kaiser, the Shah of Persia, and the Sultan of Turkey. In 1934, he became a member of the Privy Council, which advises the British sovereign, and such was his standing on the world stage that, in 1937, he was chosen as President of the League of Nations. As a founding member and president of the "All India Muslim League," the Aga Khan was to play an important role in the movement that led to the division of the Indian sub-Continent, after British colonial rule, into India and Pakistan.

Spreading the Word
Despite his international reputation, though, and his great wealth and all his honors, the Aga Khan knew that he could take none of this with him when he died. He was laid to rest as a simple Muslim man. In his life, he had shown great kindness to the poor and, in the grand circles in which he had mixed, had tried steadfastly to present Islam in a favorable light to those who knew nothing of its sweet and gentle message. Although in his day, Islam was not yet looked upon as a threat to Western civilization, Muslims were regarded as backward. He tried to present the achievements of Islam, rather than the current state it was in because of colonialism.

In Loving Memory
In a touching tribute of love, his wife (the Begum) had a single red rose laid on his grave every day until she, herself, died. It is said by local residents that when there were no roses to be bought in Aswan, she would have roses especially flown in from Paris.

The Mausoleum Now
At the present time, the tourists in Aswan no longer have the chance to flock to visit the mausoleum, as once they did. Instead they can only gaze across the Nile at its majesty, contemplating how quickly our life on this earth comes to an end and how death comes to us all, whether we be rich or poor.
Unlike many of us, the Aga Khan was wise enough to know that we cannot avoid coming to the grave and that nothing can stop our appointed time. His charitable works live on in many of the organizations and institutions he founded. Only recently the Aga Khan Foundation, a successor to his own work, funded the splendid Al-Azhar Park in Egypt's capital, Cairo.