33 Awesome Photos that Summarize Our 2016 Posts: From Historical Visits and Landmark Ceremonies of His Highness the Aga Khan to Fantastic Travelogues and Photo Essays

PREPARED BY ABDULMALIK MERCHANT
(Publisher/editor — Simergphotos, simerg and barakah)

(The photos on this page are representative of some thirty photo pieces that we published in 2016. The photos are not shown in any specific chronological order. The detailed piece for each photo may be read by clicking  on ‘See more’ in the photo caption.

Mawlana Hazar Imam’s family in attendance at his 80th birthday celebration held at his home in Aiglemont on Friday, December 16, 2016. From left to right: Prince Hussain, Princess Salwa and her husband Prince Rahim, MAWLANA HAZAR IMAM, Prince Amyn Muhammad, Princess Zahra, Prince Ali Muhammad, and Princess Zahra’s children, Sara, and Ilyan (partial, face not showing). Photo: The Ismaili/Zahur Ramji.  See more Here and also Here

The Jamat of Hunza accept the gracious deedar (glimpse) of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, as he visits the Princely State in the Northern Areas of Pakistan in 1960. Hunza was then governed by the Mir of Hunza, who is seen following Hazar Imam. The entire Northern region is now known as Gilgit-Baltistan with Karimabad (or Baltit), being the capital of Hunza. Photo: Abdul M. Ismaily. Copyright. See more…

Ismaili schoolgirls on lunch break amidst a fantastic setting near Kalai Khum in the Wakhan Corridor of Badakhshan. Photo: Muslim Harji. Copyright.  See more…

His Highness the Aga Khan introduces the first five Senior Officials of the Imamat to Portugal’s President at the Palácio de Belém on May 11, 2016. Photo : © 2016 Presidency of the Portuguese Republic. See more…

Spectacular scenery of the Karakoram mountain range along the Karakpram Highway in Upper Hunza. Photo: Ali Karim. Copyright. See more…

An image of a condolence letter penned in 1969 by His Highness the Aga Khan to Mr. Frank Pattrick upon learning from Mr. Michael Curtis of the Daily Nation that his mother had passed away. Photo: Linda Baxter Collection, United Kingdom. (Note: Missing on this image on the top is the crest of the Imamat as well as the date of letter. The original letter includes the missing information – ed.).

His Highness the Aga Khan meets with Mr. Frank Pattrick during his later years. Photo: Linda Baxter Collection, United Kingdom. See more…

His Highness the Aga Khan meets Egyptian President Sisi during his visit to Cairo for a Business for Africa Forum held in February 2016. Photo: The Egyptian Presidency. See more…

Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, meets his followers during his visit to Karachi, Pakistan in 1961. Photo: Abdul M. Ismaily. Copyright. See more…

His Highness the Aga Khan and aspiring young photographer, Alnoor Abdulla Premji Kanji, now residing in Toronto, await the printout of a portrait taken with a polaroid instant camera during his visit to Mtwara, Tanzania, as part of the Ismaili Imam’s extensive tour of East Africa undertaken in 1966. Photo: Sultan Jessa Collection. See more….

His Highness the Aga Khan seen making remarks during a reception held by a Kenyan Mayor, with Begum Salimah looking on. Photo: Azhar Chaudhry. Copyright. See more….

Mawlana Hazar visits Karachi, Pakistan in 1961. Photo: Abdul M. Ismaily. Copyright. See more…

Prince Aly Khan bids farewell as he leaves the Lourenço Marques Jamatkhana during his visit to the Portuguese colonial city in 1957. Photo: Jehangir A. Merchant Collection. See more…

Iconic scout master Mumlo Dhanji, now in Vancouver, Canada, leads his band along the narrow path dividing Dar-es-Salaam’s Darkhana jamatkhana and its adjacent grand social hall, as members and leaders of the Ismaili community await the arrival of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. Photo: Abdul M. Ismaily. Copyright. See more…

Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, uncle of Mawlana Hazar Imam, greets Rai Shamshuddin Tejpar, the President of the Ismailia Association for Tanzania. Photo: Abdul M. Ismaily. Copyright. See more…

His Highness the Aga Khan smiles broadly as he greets students during a visit to his primary school in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1966. Photo: Juby Sprake Collection, Vancouver, Canada. See more…

2016 World Partnership walkers at Stanley Park, Vancouver, approach the sculpture of British Columbian athlete, Hary Jerome, with the theme “The Will To Do, The Soul to Dare.” Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos. See more…

A follower of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, thought to be a new convert, falls at the feet of her beloved 49th Imam as he enters a temporarily erected structure (or mandap) to meet with his Ismaili community in Kampala. Photo: Abdul M. Ismaily. Copyright. See more…

Mawlana Hazar Imam seen waving from a plane as he departs the former Portuguese colonial city of Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), Mozambique, following a 3 day visit in 1958. Photo: Jehangir Merchant collection. See more…

His Highness the Aga Khan greets Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at the Office of the Prime Minister located at the Centre Block of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Photo: Jean-Marc Carisee. Copyright. See more…

An Ismaili athlete from British Columbia, Canada, carries the Jubilee Games lantern in a short relay around the courtyard of the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby, during its welcoming ceremony. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simerg. See more…

Yellowstone, the world’s very first National Park. Photo: Nurin Merchant. See more…

At centre of photo, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai with His Highness the Aga Khan at the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Ceremony in the UAE. Photo: Simergphotos. See more…

Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge, Tehran, Iran, one of six winning projects of the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Photo: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Barzin Baharlouie. See more…

A school in Nairobi conceived and supported by Ismaili educators. Children are taught by professionally qualified and dedicated teachers. Great emphasis is being placed on Counselling and Mentoring so that these children may be helped to adjust to their new surroundings and settle down into a normal routine. See more…

Riyaan Maherali (front left) is seen pictured with his older brother Qayl after Team USA Blue players (l to r) Adnan Dahlvani, Zohib Hadi, Naushad Lalani and Irfan Charania autographed his cap. Adnan became Riyaan’s Jubilee Games hero for a very special reason! See more…

A close-up of the beautiful blue-and-gold shrine, the Dome of the Rock, in Haram Esh-Shariff, Jerusalem. The Dome is the 3rd holiest place in Islam after the Ka’aba and the Prophet’s Mosque. Photo: Muslim Harji, Montreal, Canada. Copyright. See more Here…. and also Here…

Happy Ismailis at the Khyber village in Northern Hunza. Photo: Ali Karim. Copyright. See more…

Kashgar’s Id Kah mosque and the huge square in front of it. The 15th century mosque can accommodate up to 10,000 worshipers. Photo: Ali Karim. Copyright. See more Here… and also Here…

Renaye Tejani, a 12 Year Old Ismaili Girl in Mumbai Spreads Joy Through Baking for Charity. Renaye is pictured with her charity stall at an En Vogue exhibition at Taj Lands End Hotel, Mumbai. See more…

Dilshad Karim, centre, with Ismaili owner of the grocery store (2nd from left) and her family members in Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China.. Photo: Ali Karim. Copyright. See more…

Montreal jamat celebrating the 80th birthday of Mawlana Hazar Imam. Photo: Muslim Harji. Copyright. See more…

Mawlana Hazar Imam is presented with a birthday gift on behalf of the global Jamat. Titled “Horses”, this lapis lazuli mosaic by late Ismail Gulgee of Pakistan was thought to have been commissioned  in 1988. Looking on are the Chairman of the Ismaili Leaders International Forum, Mahmoud Eboo (right), and Vazir Shafik Sachedina. Photo: The Ismaili/Zahur Ramji. See more…

Date posted: Tuesday, December 27, 2016.
Last updated: December 29, 2016.

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For full stories behind the photos shown above as well as other interesting articles with lots of pictures, please click Table of Contents.