The Mausoleum of Aga Khan is the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

Aga Khan III Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), commonly known by his religious title Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imam of the Nizariyya. He played an important role in British Indian politics. Born to Aga Khan II in Karachi, Aga Khan III ...

, Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, who died in 1957. The mausoleum is located at

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the ...

along the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, since Egypt was formerly the centre of power of the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...

, an

Ismaili Shia Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

. The construction of the mausoleum began in 1956 and ended in 1960. The Aga Khan's wife,

Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan (15 February 1906 – 1 July 2000) was the fourth and last wife of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III. The couple married thirteen months after the Aga Khan III and his third wife were divorced by mutual consent. The ...

, commissioned the construction of the mausoleum, which initially accepted tourists inside; however, the interior was closed off to the public in 1997. A red

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

is laid on the Aga Khan's tomb every day--a practice first started by Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan. Assuan_Mausoleum_Aga_Khan_III

Site

The mausoleum sits atop a hill along the west bank of the

, where it overlooks Aga Khan III and Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan's

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

, the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan House. The villa was designed by Egyptian architect

Hassan Fathy Hassan Fathy ( arz, حسن فتحي; March 23, 1900 – November 30, 1989) was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to reestablish the use of adobe and traditional mud const ...

, and it served as a winter home for Aga Khan III, whose will stated that he would be buried near the villa two years after his death.

Architectural style

Architect

Egyptian architect Farid Shafi'e (1907-1985) designed the mausoleum, who during his career served as an

architectural designer The term architectural designer may refer to a building designer who is not a registered architect, architectural technologist or any other person that is involved in the design process of buildings or urban landscapes. Architectural designers ...

;

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and director of the architecture department at

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

; and

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

for the

King Abdulaziz University King Abdulaziz University (KAU) ( ar, جامعة الملك عبد العزيز) is a public university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With over 117,096 students in 2022, it is the largest university in the country. Located in south Jeddah, the univ ...

, among other roles. Among some of the other buildings that Farid Shafie designed during his career are the headquarters of the Royal Navy in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

; the Office of the

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

at the

Al-Azhar Mosque Al-Azhar Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأزهر, al-Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, lit=The Resplendent Congregational Mosque, arz, جامع الأزهر, Gāmiʿ el-ʾazhar), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic ...

; and a royal suite in the

Abdeen Palace Abdeen Palace ( ar, قصر عابدين) is a historic Cairo palace built as one of the official residences for the former ruling monarchy and royal family of Egypt. It is now one of the official residences and the principal workplace of the Pre ...

in Cairo. Farid Shafi'e published numerous journal articles and books during his career, including an article about the Masjid al-Juyushi, the Fatimid building that the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III was designed to resemble. Some of Shafi'e's other publications include ''Characteristics of Decorated Wood in the Abbasid and Fatimid Styles'' (1954); ''Arabic Islamic Architecture: Its Past, Present and Future'' (1981); and ''Arab Architecture in Islamic Egypt, Volume 2: The Fatimid Era'' (1982). Shafi'e's past publications indicate that he had studied

Fatimid architecture The Fatimid architecture that developed in the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1167 CE) of North Africa combined elements of eastern and western architecture, drawing on Abbasid architecture, Byzantine, Egypt, Ancient Egyptian, Coptic architecture ...

extensively prior to designing the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III. Juyushi_Mosque,Cairo_(1)

Stylistic Influences

The Mausoleum of Aga Khan III was designed to resemble the Masjid al-Juyushi, a Fatimid

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

and dedicated mausoleum that was constructed in 1085. Both the Masjid al-Juyushi and the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III feature a rectangular layout with high walls, a central

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, and numerous smaller domes. Like the Masjid al-Juyushi, the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III also features an interior

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

for prayer. Despite numerous functional and

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

similarities, the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III does not share some of the Masjid al-Juyushi's most revered features, such as its

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

, its

muqarnas Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

, or its

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. Based on aesthetic similarities, the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III's architectural style may have also looked to other examples of Fatimid architecture for inspiration, such as the Aswan Necropolis, a collection of tombs constructed between the 10th and 12th centuries. Both the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III and the Aswan Necropolis feature domes with

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

al transition zones, arched doorways, mihrabs, and building materials that blend in with the surrounding

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

environment (the Aswan Necropolis tombs were mostly built with

mud brick A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also been fi ...

and coated with

lime plaster Lime plaster is a type of plaster composed of sand, water, and lime, usually non-hydraulic hydrated lime (also known as slaked lime, high calcium lime or air lime). Ancient lime plaster often contained horse hair for reinforcement and pozzolan ...

). Another Fatimid mausoleum that the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III may have looked to for inspiration is the Mashhad al-Sayyida Ruqayya, which was constructed in Cairo in 1133/527 AH. Like the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III, the Mashhad al-Sayyida Ruqayya features a dome with an octagonal transition zone as well as

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

tracery Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...

windows with geometric patterns. Given the many distinct shared features between the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III and various Fatimid mausoleums, it can be understood that the design of Aga Khan's mausoleum was largely influenced by Fatimid architecture.

Exterior Design

The Mausoleum of Aga Khan III is built of pink

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

Crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

s line the outer wall, and an

ed doorway on the western side of mausoleum serves as the only entrance to the mausoleum's interior. The eastern side of the mausoleum features a large central dome with arched tracery windows along the octagonal

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

. Four miniature domes are located on each corner of the outer wall.

Interior Design

Quran'ic inscriptions adorn the interior

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...

of Aga Khan III, which is made of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

. The mausoleum's

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

indicates that the tomb faces a mihrab, which is located under the central dome on the eastern wall of the mausoleum.

Burial of Aga Khan III

Aga Khan III was reburied in the mausoleum on February 20th, 1959, two years after his death and first burial in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Those in attendance include

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, and over 2,000 other guests. Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan passed away in 2000 before being buried in the mausoleum neighboring that of her husband.

Gallery

File:Assuan 9785.JPG, Mausoleum of Aga Khan - Aswan, Egypt. File:Assuan 9932.JPG, Mausoleum of Aga Khan, on the Nile. File:Assuan 9791.JPG, Mausoleum of Aga Khan, another view.

References

{{coord, 24.088275, 32.878897, region:EG_type:landmark_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title, format=dms Mausoleums in Egypt Aswan Buildings and structures in Aswan Governorate