Aswan - Villa Nur el-Salam

On the west bank of the Nile, opposite the south end of Elephantine, is the Villa Nur el-Salam, set in carefully tended gardens, which belonged to Aga Khan III (Sultan Mohammed Shah, b. 1887 in Karachi, d. 1957 at Versoix in Switzerland), spiritual head of the Khojas, a branch of the Ismaili sect. The Khojas, who revere him as the 48th Imam, live mainly in India and East Africa. For many years the Aga Khan spent the winter months at Aswan, seeking relief from a rheumatic complaint.