On the left bank of the Nile, not far from the white-washed villa, is an elegant mausoleum that belongs to Mohammed Shah Aga Khan. During his lifetime he was the 48th Imam of the Ismaili sect and an extremely influential politician, assisting in the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan, as well as being the father-in-law of the once popular actress Rita Hayworth.
The Aga Khan liked to spend the winter in Aswan, as its climate was beneficial to the Imam's health. He found his final resting place here in 1957. The Aga Khan was not only a political figure, but also a very wealthy landowner and businessman who received a secular education in England. His fourth wife, Frenchwoman Yvonne Labrousse, known as Begum Om Habibe, died in 2000 and is buried next to her husband. Yvonne Labrousse's life was devoted to philanthropy: the Om Habibe Foundation continues to work to improve health care in Aswan.
The mausoleum was built of pink granite in the late 1950s, modelled on the Fatimid tombs in Cairo, with the inner sarcophagus made of white marble. Yvonne Labrousse brought a fresh rose to the tomb daily when she was still living in her husband's villa. On other days this function was entrusted to the gardener. For a time there were no decent flowers in Egypt and roses were brought from Paris by private plane.
In the garden, a level below the crypt, there is a white villa and a small monastery.
