Prepared by MALIK MERCHANT

The beginnings of Barakah’s unique posts celebrating the birthdays of Mawlana Hazar Imam His Highness the Aga Khan’s family members go back to 2020 when Prince Rahim’s first child, Prince Irfan, became five years old on April 11, 2020. Prince Hussain’s first birthday post appeared a year later on April 10, 2021, when he turned 47. Subsequently, Barakah updated the posts for his 48th and 49th birthdays based on his activities reported in Barakah’s top-rated 2021-2022 and 2023 news coverage about Mawlana Hazar Imam and his family members.

For Prince Hussain’s milestone 50th birthday, we include events in which he participated between April 11, 2023, and April 10, 2024. Readers should note, however, that Barakah had dedicated separate pieces to Prince Hussain’s visits to Calgary and Toronto in May 2023, his participation at the COP28 in Dubai in December 2023, and his exhibition in Nairobi in January 2024. We provide links to these articles, allowing our esteemed readers to delve deeper into these significant events.

On behalf of my family members and myself, as well as readers of Barakah and its two sister websites Simerg and Simergphotos, I convey our heartfelt birthday greetings to Prince Hussain and wish the Prince good health and success in all his endeavours, both in his personal life and in his work for Mawlana Hazar Imam. We take this opportunity to congratulate Princess Fareen, Mawlana Hazar Imam, and all his family members on this very happy and auspicious occasion. Prince Hussain’s 50th birthday coincides with Eid ul-Fitr, and we also wish him and his family Eid Mubarak. 

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Prince Hussain Aga Khan: A Personal Reflection, With an Official Profile

By MALIK MERCHANT

A Personal Reflection

Of the birth of all four children of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, I recollect the announcement about the birth of Prince Hussain more vividly than of any of his other siblings — Princess Zahra, Prince Rahim and Prince Aly Muhammad. This is because I was present at Alexandra Palace in North London when Mawlana Hazar Imam revealed to the Jamat, in the presence of Begum Salimah, that she was expecting their 3rd child. We were overjoyed and heartily clapped on hearing the news. The auspicious birth of Prince Hussain took place a few months later on April 10, 1974 when Princess Zahra (b. September 18, 1970) and Prince Rahim (b. October 12, 1971) were three and two years old respectively.

Another vivid recollection that I have of Prince Hussain is from Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Silver Jubilee in the UK. I had travelled to London, England, from Canada to be with my parents to celebrate the last Silver Jubilee visit in July 1983. For the Darbar Mulaqat, Mawlana Hazar Imam was accompanied by Begum Salimah and Princess Zahra (12 years old), Prince Rahim (11) and Prince Hussain (9). Shortly after they took their seats on the stage, Prince Hussain noticed that a section of the stage carpet was buckled. He then got up from his chair and walked to the wrinkled section and straightened it, and also pushed his feet in the area to make sure the carpet would remain straight. It was a heart warming sight for me when I saw him doing that. The Jamats will also recall that during the Darbar, Mawlana Hazar Imam blessed Count Sir Eboo Pirbhai with the title of Diwan. It was an unforgettable visit.

A couple of years later we learnt about the incident of Prince Hussain’s gold fish that died in a fish tank when President Reagan and the First Lady stayed at Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Geneva home in November 1985. This was during the summit meeting with Russian President Gorbachev. President Reagan was saddened by the incident and left behind the following note for the family:

“Dear Friends, On Tuesday I found one of your fish dead in the bottom of the tank. I don’t know what could have happened but I added two new ones, same kind, I hope this was alright. Thanks for letting us live in your lovely home. Ronald Reagan.”

Prince Hussain was then 11 years old, and had already developed enthusiasm for wildlife. This early interest in his childhood has taken him to where he stands today creating an organization called Focused on Nature (FON) that aims to help projects related to species conservation and slow habitat loss.

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Of course, Prince Hussain, while heading the work of FON as its founder, continues to be engaged with the work of the Imamat through his involvement with numerous agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network where he is the Board Chair of the Aga Khan Agency of Habitat and a Board Member of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. At FON, his older brother Prince Rahim acts as one of the advisers. Mention must also be made of Nazir Sunderji, who along with his late wife Munira, contributed to the work of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, and has continued supporting Prince Hussain at FON as a founding member as well as its Secretary-General.

Our special presentation for Prince Hussain’s 50th birthday is just a small segment of the enormously vast and rich material that can be found on his website. We strongly encourage you to spend time to learn more of FON’S activities and publications, as well as the exciting adventures of Prince Hussain in the oceans and seas of the world. Children will particularly love flicking through his 191 digitized brochures that contain hundreds of mesmerizing photos of his undersea adventures and meeting with sea animals including sharks, whales, dolphins and turtles that are covered in brief in special section below.

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Prince Hussain is an advocate and an activist who is also concerned about climate change, the neglect to the environment and nature in all its aspects and has particularly expressed his concern about the use and spread of plastic. He said, “Before, you didn’t see plastic in the sea. Now it is everywhere. I see plastic each and every time I go on an expedition. In Egypt, in the Philippines, in Indonesia, in the Bahamas, in Sardinia…Wherever I go I always find plastic.” Both the Prince and his wife Princess Fareen have stopped using plastic in their homes.

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As Prince Hussain celebrates his 50th birthday on April 10, 2024, we wish him a very happy birthday and congratulate his wife Princess Fareen and all the members of his family.

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Official Profile (from FON)

Hussain Aga Khan was born on 10 April 1974, in Geneva, Switzerland. He received his secondary education at Deerfield Academy, Massachusetts, and graduated from Williams College, Massachusetts, with a dual degree in theatre and French literature. In 2004, he received a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. At Columbia, Hussain’s main area of study was Economic and Political Development with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa.

Hussain has been an avid tropical fish hobbyist since the age of five and a reptile and amphibian enthusiast since he was 14. At 14, he started scuba diving and developed a keen interest in conservation. He started travelling to the tropics frequently after secondary school, and began taking photographs of fauna and flora on a trip to the Brazilian Amazon in 1996.

He is chair of the board of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, focusing mainly on disaster risk reduction and emergency management in Central Asia, Pakistan and India. He also serves on the board of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), and sits on the AKDN Committee, the oversight body of the Aga Khan Development Network. Involvement with the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) has centered on the management of the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Fund for the Environment. More recently, Hussain joined his brother, Prince Rahim, and key directors of AKDN agencies as a member of the Environment and Climate Change Committee (ECC) in order to work on environmental issues and the impact of climate change in some of AKDN’s priority countries.

An assembly of his rainforest photographs from seven countries, entitled Rainforests and including statistics related to deforestation and biodiversity, appeared in three exhibits in the US in 2004. His work has also been exhibited in Paris at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (2007), at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco for the Blue Ocean Film Festival and for the 10-year anniversary of Prince Albert’s foundation (2015 and 2016 respectively), and at the IUCN ocean conference in Hawaii in 2016. His photography was featured at the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi (2018), and most recently at the National Museum of Natural History and Science in Lisbon (2019).

Collections of his photographs have been published in two books, Animal Voyage in 2004 (new edition printed in 2007) and Diving into Wildlife in 2015. Some of Hussain’s photographs have appeared on National Geographic blogs.

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Prince Hussain Aga Khan: 2021-2024

2021 (1): Prince Hussain Aga Khan at Virtual Event — Global Convocation of Aga Khan University

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2021 (2): Prince Hussain Aga Khan at Virtual Event — First Convocation of the University of Central Asia

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2021 (3): Mawlana Hazar Imam celebrates his 85th birthday with members of his family

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2022 (1): Prince Hussain Aga Khan Attends Blood Donor Clinic at Ismaili Centre Lisbon

Ismaili CIVIC Portugal hosted a blood donation campaign on March 26, 2022, at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon. The Portuguese Minister for Health and Prince Hussain attended the pop-up clinic, organised to boost blood reserves in the country. Dr Marta Temido, Portugal’s Minister for Health was welcomed to the Ismaili Centre by Prince Hussain, and spoke of her admiration for Ismaili CIVIC volunteers. “Today, we are marking an initiative of the Ismaili Community in Portugal and the IPST in order to appeal for donation and to mark tomorrow’s Blood Donor day,” she said.

Volunteer Karim Rahimo has donated blood on separate 3 occasions in the last year. “I am a regular donor because I feel it is my civic duty, and it doesn’t cost me anything,” he said. “It feels very good to donate as part of a global initiative via Ismaili CIVIC — I usually donate in other contexts but it feels even better to do so with my community.”

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2022 (2): Princess Zahra Aga Khan and Prince Hussain Welcome President of Greece as She Meets Refugees at Ismaili Centre Lisbon

Ms. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the first woman to be elected President of Greece, visited the Ismaili Centre Lisbon on March 30, 2022 and met with refugee families who have arrived in Portugal from Greece in recent months. Princess Zahra Aga Khan and her brother Prince Hussain received the President on her arrival.

Over the past three years, according to the International Rescue Committee, Greece has taken in over 50,000 refugees from the Middle East and South and Central Asia, hoping to escape conflict and poverty, and find a safe, secure new home. Hundreds of refugees have arrived in Portugal from Greece. One of the refugees the President met was 13-year-old Arezu Kabuli from Afghanistan who has been awarded a scholarship to study at the International School of Boston, starting autumn 2022.

In recent years, the government of Portugal has prioritised the reception and integration of refugees, and works with local authorities and civil society in a continuous effort to support this commitment.

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2022 (3): Prince Hussain Aga Khan and Princess Zahra Attend Iftar Dinner at Ismaili Centre Lisbon

On April 21, 2022, the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon hosted an Iftar dinner at which least 12 different religious traditions were represented, including attendees from the Muslim community in Lisbon, the Hindu community, the Buddhist Union, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Religious Freedom Commission. Diplomats from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the European Union were also present. The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was also present along with Princess Zahra Aga Khan and Prince Hussain. Iftar is the meal served to bring people together at the end of a day of fasting during the month of Ramadan. Guests in attendance were invited to break the Ramadhan fast soon after sunset with dates, dried fruits, nuts, and water, as is tradition. A rendition of ‘Bismillah’ was performed by the Portugal Ismaili Choir to mark the time of Iftar.

Ramadan is a time of contemplation and piety through good deeds such as charitable giving and voluntary service. It is an important time to reflect on our duty to the needy in society. In light of this, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa remarked: “This holy month is viewed by various communities of Muslims around the world as a comprehensive tool for change in various spheres of our lives including the social, spiritual, intellectual, humanitarian, the inner, and the outer. Portugal and the people of Portugal share with the Ismaili community the fundamental objective of doing whatever we can to improve the dignity of human life.”

Guests enjoyed an eclectic Iftar dinner — itself a celebration of culture and pluralism — featuring a mix of dishes from South Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. “Gatherings such as this one, of unity and understanding, are needed now more than ever,” remarked Nazim Ahmad, Diplomatic Representative of the Ismaili Imamat to Portugal.

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2022 (4): Prince HUSSAIN AGA KHAN IN Imamat Delegation to UN Ocean Conference

The official website of the Ismaili Muslim community, the Ismaili reported on June 28, 2022, that an Ismaili Imamat delegation led by Prince Rahim attended the Ocean Conference in Lisbon at the invitation of the United Nations (UN).

The weeklong UN Ocean Conference that concluded on July 1, 2022 was co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal and came at a critical time as the world is seeking to address many of the deep-rooted problems of our societies laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and which will require major structural transformations and common shared solutions that are anchored in the SDGs. To mobilize action, the Conference sought to propel much needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.

Representing the Ismaili Imamat, Prince Rahim was accompanied by Prince Hussain and Prince Aly Muhammad, and senior AKDN leaders. An exhibition of Prince Hussain’s marine photography, Fragile Beauty, was on display at the Portugal Pavilion as an official side event of the conference. An exhibition was also on display at the Ismaili Centre, Lisbon, open to the Jamat and public. The exhibition was dedicated to Sylvia Earle, the accomplished 86-year-old marine biologist, oceanographer, and explorer, who has made great strides to protect the ocean and its wildlife.

Having spent many years swimming alongside dolphins, turtles, sharks, whales and more, Prince Hussain has noticed with sorrow the increasingly rapid degradation of our oceans. He has said: “Over the five decades of my own life, I have been heartbroken to see how our oceans have become so clogged up by plastic and other forms of pollution and waste… Coastal areas I visited as a child are unrecognisable today — the wildlife is suffocating and the coastal economies are stagnating. It is clear to me that we have to act now before it is too late.” 

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2022 (5): prince hussain aga khan and Members of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Family Attend Open Air-Concert at Lisbon’s São Jorge Castle

In its issue dated July 22, 2022, The.Ismaili, the official website of the Ismaili Muslim community, reported that on July 8, Prince Amyn, Prince Hussain, and Prince Aly Muhammad attended a special open-air concert by the Aga Khan Master Musicians at Lisbons’s spectacular São Jorge Castle. The concert came about via a partnership between the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat to Portugal; the Aga Khan Music Programme; and EGEAC, the agency responsible for cultural equipment and programming in Lisbon. The aim was to offer an evening of musical delights to citizens and visitors in Lisbon. Distinguished guests to the live event, included President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Moedas, and Minister of Justice Catarina Sarmento e Castro.

Formed in 2016, the Aga Khan Master Musicians contribute to the work of the Aga Khan Music Programme (AKMP) and its mission to reinvigorate cultural pluralism and tolerance. They create music inspired by their own deep roots in the cultures of the Middle East, Mediterranean, South and Central Asia, and China. They were joined at the event by special Portuguese guests Ricardo Parreira, Marco Oliveira, and Vicente Magalhães – respected artists in the genres of classical, jazz, and fado, respectively. The Master Musicians and guest artists combined to present an original body of work – this was the first time their unique combination of instruments appeared on the same stage.

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2022 (6): Mawlana Hazar Imam Celebrates Imamat Day with His Family

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2022 (7): Prince Hussain Aga Khan Calls Images in “The Living Sea” the Most Joyous Moments in His Life; Raises Concern Over Threats to Sea Wildlife

The official website of the Ismaili Community The.Ismaili reported that Prince Hussain’s exhibition The Living Sea arrived in the UK after previous appearances in New York, Nairobi, Lisbon, and Venice. The exhibition consists of sea wildlife photographs taken by Prince Hussain over many years, and was open to the public until September 24, 2022. Prince Hussain was accompanied at the inauguration of the Living Sea by his wife, Princess Fareen. They were married on September 29, 2019 in Geneva.

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“The images around you this evening represent some of nature’s treasures and the most joyous moments of my life,” Prince Hussain said in his opening remarks. “Instants one couldn’t put into words if one tried.”

When the exhibition was presented in Lisbon in 2019, Designboom described the installation as “transporting visitors into the depths of the ocean, in an effort to highlight the fragility of our natural world when it is facing destruction by means of plastic pollution and the extinction of marine species.” 

In his London remarks, the Prince Hussain addressed the impact of changes in the environment that affect the sea, its coral reefs and wildlife. He said:

“Perhaps the only common thread among these species is the threats they face. Climate change, including acidification, coral bleaching, sea level rise, habitat destruction, overfishing, plastic pollution and more. A third of all whale and dolphin species are threatened with extinction. There has been a 71 percent decline of sharks over the past 50 years. Six out of seven sea turtle species are threatened, including the greens I often photograph and critically endangered hawksbills I adore. Manta rays are being slaughtered in their thousands for their gills. Half of all coral reefs have been lost since the 1950s and up to 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef has been affected by bleaching events.

“Somehow we’ve turned abundance, health and diversity to penury, disease and rarity. Our activities have brought on an unbrave new world. And while individual photographs here don’t necessarily demonstrate some of the hardships our oceans and their denizens face, it is their wonder I hope to share with you, and their protection I hope to encourage.”

Related article(s):

1 Barakah: Prince Hussain’s Journey of Sea Exploration
2. Barakah: Seven Seas – a Film by Prince Hussain

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2022 (8): pRINCE hUSSAIN Aga Khan’s Living Sea Exhibition in Bahrain

Their [Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s and Simone Piccoli’s] passion for marine life took them on a fascinating journey to explore the hidden marvels of the deep sea in Egypt, where gigantic groups swim of dolphins with a long rostrum and where, nearby, the strange and peaceful dugong can be seen grazing. In the following years, Hussain and Simone set their sights on Vava’u, one of Tonga’s two main islands in whose deep waters, every summer, whales go to give birth — Bahrain News Agency, November 2, 2022

Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s exhibition The Living Sea made its debut at the Bahrain National Museum on November 3, 2022, and was on display until March 9, 2023. Through large format prints of Prince Hussain’s photographs and a video by his friend Simone Piccoli, the exhibition unravelled the extraordinary diversity and splendour of the underwater worlds of three countries: Tonga, Mexico and Egypt.

The exhibition was a collaboration between the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities; the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage; and Focused on Nature (FON), an organisation created by Prince Hussain to promote awareness of environmental causes through photography, and to support charities focused on restoring ocean ecosystems, marine biodiversity, rainforests, and endangered animal species.

Prince Hussain and Princess Fareen offered members of the Bahrain Jamat a guided tour of the exhibition. Young members of the Jamat also had the opportunity to hear from Prince Hussain about his work and experiences capturing photos of sea life in different parts of the world. Speaking about his work, Prince Hussain said: “I do this, so people get a close look at how extraordinary these animals are and how our actions are endangering them.” During his presentation, he emphasized the importance of saving marine life and described how finning has impacted the shark population.

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2023 (1): PRINCE HUSSAIN’S the living sea AT PALM BEACH SHOW

I took this photograph [dolphin photo, 3rd photo below] in Sataya, Egypt. I was running out of breath. I went below the surface a bit and this dolphin was rising up to my feet. My camera wasn’t working. Finally, he was at my chest and the camera still didn’t shoot. He went just above me and I looked up, arched my back, and I clicked. It worked. I had zero air left in my lungs — Prince Hussain Aga Khan, Arab News

Prince Hussain Aga Khan, second son of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, presented his series The Living Sea, comprised of works from numerous photographic deep sea expeditions, spanning a multitude of marine species, at the 2023 Palm Beach Show from February 16-21, at the Palm Beach Convention Centre.

According to a programming note issued by the organizers of the Palm Beach Show, Prince Hussain’s works are exhibited with Galerie Gmurzynska. For this year’s show, the Galerie sought to bring together international masters such as count Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, Francis Picabia and others who pioneered the abstraction of the human figure. It was alongside these masters and in the exclusive charitable benefit of Focused on Nature (FON) that Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s fine art undersea photography was presented.

Prince Hussain’s exhibition in Palm Beach was reported in The Arab News dated February 17, in which the Prince expressed his passion for wildlife since he was 8 years old. The Prince mentions that he has been self-taught using the camera. He notes, “I’ve always loved wildlife photography; I’d buy books on it and watch David Attenborough and Jacques Cousteau documentaries when I was younger. I’m living the dream I had as a kid.”

The Arab News report also provides a very interesting account of the Prince’s encounter with a spinner dolphin in Sataya, Egypt, in December 2014. The iconic dolphin photo, shown above, is on the front cover of his beautiful book “Diving Into Wildlife,” signed copies of which can be purchased through this (Barakah) website. In the caption to the dolphin photo, Prince Hussain writes that this was the friendliest dolphin he saw in Sataya. He adds, “No other dolphin came even half as close to me. Much to my immense frustration, this is the only image I captured of the dolphin even though it performed a full spiral around me.”

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2023 (2): Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s Exhibition “The Living Sea — A Fragile Beauty” Makes Canadian Debut in Calgary and Toronto

Prince Hussain Aga Khan, accompanied by his wife Princess Fareen, visited Calgary and Toronto in May 2023 for the Canadian debut of his exhibition “The Living Sea — A Fragile Beauty.” Barakah provided extended coverage of the exhibition and Prince Hussain’s insightful talks and interviews in the two cities through the following dedicated pieces:

• May 6, 2023: Prince Hussain Aga Khan, underwater photographer par excellence, brings his stunning exhibition to Calgary for first ever debut in Canada
• May 18, 2023: Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s Living Sea Exhibition in Calgary: The Sea Lion’s moving mummy hug, the beautiful picture book and visitors’ reaction
• May 19, 2023: University of Calgary hosts Prince Hussain Aga Khan for presentation of his beautiful exhibition The Living Sea – Fragile Beauty
• May 21, 2023: Prince Hussain Aga Khan and his wife Princess Fareen conclude visit to Calgary with a beautiful event at Glenbow; Prince and Princess walk through reception area and greet guests with warmth, enthusiasm and kindness
• May 24, 2023: Beautiful Moments from Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s presentation of his exhibition The Living Sea – Fragile Beauty at the University of Waterloo
• May 26, 2023: Exclusive photographs from Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s presentations of his exhibition “The Living Sea – Fragile Beauty” at the Aga Khan Museum; plus photos displayed at the Ismaili Centre
• June 13, 2023: The Ismaili TV Exclusive Interview: Farah Nasser in conversation with Prince Hussain Aga Khan

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2023 (3): Prince Hussain Aga Khan Featured in Spring/Summer Issue of Deerfield Magazine

Reduce your use of plastics. Recycle. Drive less and fly less. Don’t waste water and food. Plant trees. Give money if you can. Speak to your family and friends about what you know. It’s not one thing but a lot of small actions combined” — Prince Hussain Aga Khan speaking to Deerfield students on how they might create a more sustainable world.

Prince Hussain, Class of ’92, at Deerfield College, shared his conservation photography with with Megan Ng, Class of ’23 at Deerfield’s School Meeting. Kate Godin’s report of the event appeared in the Spring/Summer issue of Deerfield Magazine under the heading “What I’ve Always Dreamed of Seeing.” Please click Deerfield Magazine for Prince Hussain’s piece; it is a 2-page spread on pages 16-17.

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2023 (4): Prince Hussain Aga Khan participates in COP28 in Dubai

Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s participation in COP28 was covered through the following dedicated post(s) in Barakah:

Photos and Videos from COP28: Prince Hussain Aga Khan Seeks to Drive Positive Change for Our Planet Through Creative Combination of Art and Advocacy

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2024 (1): Prince Hussain Aga Khan Exhibits in Kenya

Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya, was covered through the following dedicated post(s) in Barakah:

Glimpses from Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s Photography Exhibition in Kenya

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SPECIAL FEATURE: MARINE INSIGHTS

By PRINCE HUSSAIN AGA KHAN

1. Small Turtle in Bahamas

I stayed with her for an hour; she let me closer and closer in. By the end of the dive she was eating 60 centimeters from my leg — Prince Hussain Aga Khan

You would not believe how lovely, beautiful and trusting this small turtle was.

I was about to call – quit – a very boring dive with unremarkable coral and precious few fish when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw this small turtle rise to the surface for a breath. I approached and rose with it, not sure how close it would allow me.

Next thing you knew I was with this sweet thing for the whole dive – at least 45 minutes – and until I ran out of air.

[The turtle] was against a coral head for a few minutes and it seemed like she was actually playing with me – as if it were a game, with me watching her and her watching me, and she was staying just far away enough, an obstacle between us just big enough, to make shooting her harder!

I love the way she’s resting her flipper on the coral here – and how close it seems compared to her body. She had a fairly dark shell.

She very clearly trusted my buddy and me, was visibly relaxed, and even started eating just next to us. It seems very rare for animals, even the more familiar and trusting ones, to snack next to you! She got in all sorts of dining positions: upside down over her food; diagonal; on the bottom with her head held high… More Turtle Stories and Photos

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2. Humpback Whale in Tonga

Swimming with whales is unbelievably rewarding. As corny as it sounds… the whales do “change your life”. They’re simply too majestic, too enormous, too touching and too intelligent not to. Just as with humans there’s virtually no way to assess or predict an animal’s character, mood or behaviour ahead of time — Prince Hussain Aga Khan

The Town of Neiffu in Vava’u, Tonga, and Photographing Whales

Neiafu is a reverie. On a less than 1-kilometer strip you have 3 Chinese-run supermarkets; the laundromat called Bubbles (!!); the stunning blue and white church with its melodic singing and full Sunday crowd (Tongans are very religious, and no one works on Sundays); two banks with much-needed ATMs that provide local money; Bellavista — the delicious Italian place; the waterfront Mango Café, which has more of a comfort food menu; a quiet and picturesque main street and pavements with the pitter patter of dozens of stray, some beautiful and some gruff, dogs. For some reason everybody in Neiafu always seems happy, everybody mingles, you never witness discord, and people learn each other’s names very fast. Everyone is interconnected, entwined, enchanted.

If you are a repeat visitor in this lovely small town (as I am), drunk on the excitement of whale swims and sightings, surrounded by whale-related shop offerings and familiar faces, it literally feels like you have a small, if extended, family and home away from home.

Photographing – and even seeing – the whales is a real challenge when they’re deep. In deep, dark water (the waters around Vava’u are generally very deep) it’s hard to identify dark bodies. Much of the time, the only way to notice the whales deep is when the white patches on their sides or their bellies are showing. Blowing bubbles is a sign of aggression/threat in humpbacks. Heat runs are when multiple males are pursuing a female to mate with her – up to 18 males or more chasing after one female!

I assume this [photo above] was a male whale trying to intimidate some of its competition. Or voicing its frustration! It’s a shame about the tail being cut off in this image; but it’s the best bubble image I have!…..More Whale Stories and Photos

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3. Spinner Dolphin in Egypt

The dolphins are unpredictable (never aggressive with us) and all have their own independent characters and behavior. Some are bold, some shy, some inquisitive and playful. Some calves are cheeky and some mothers stern. Sometimes you can observe them for a long time. Sometimes the dolphins immediately swim off when you get in… or the encounters are very short — Prince Hussain Aga Khan

This image is burned into my memory cells. Ingrained and encrusted in the corners of my mind and depths of my soul. For this image I had gone down below the surface – photographs look so much better when taken from below – and had the joy of a spinner (dolphin) rising directly towards my legs, eventually spiralling around them. My camera refused to shoot, and then refused again and again. And again. The zoom must have been in the wrong position or light too low. Even as the dolphin rose higher, to my chest, and continued to spiral, I could not get an image of it! A shot would not go off.

And then, as I was seconds away from desperately needing air, the dolphin rose just above me — into the light. And I got this shot off. I was CONVINCED the photograph would be a terrible failure, swimming back to the boat cursing my lungs, my camera and the light. (but not the dolphin!).

For sure I thought I might have half a fin, a head split in 2 or a throat without a face! But then, reviewing the images back on the boat, it was amazing to find what became my first book cover [Diving Into Wildlife]…. More Dolphin Stories and Photos

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4. Sharks

I’ve always loved, been fascinated by, sharks. From the earliest age and at the first view of them on tv I wanted to know more about them, see them in real life and understand what they did. — Prince Hussain Aga Khan

I’m convinced that the younger you are to experience something considered dangerous, the more likely you are to be ok with it and brave. I was never really afraid of snakes because my siblings and I first handled one with an adult in Sardinia when I was about 9. With sharks… it seems lucky to me that the first one, a little reef shark, swam by me when I was 14 or 15. The whole idea that sharks will most likely attack you if they see you in the water is as much of a fallacy as the idea that if you jump into the water with a pod of wild dolphins they will want to play with you.

Humans are decimating sharks at an unprecedented rate. We kill 100 to 273 million sharks a year, including those taken for their fins, which are cut off when they’re alive (the sharks are then thrown back into the water, unable to swim and left to die — Prince Hussain Aga Khan

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If one includes species that have only been seen dead or found a small number of times (Megamouth etc.), over 350 different species of shark have been identified. And of those a huge number are sharks you would never see swimming, that live at night, very deep, under ledges or on the ocean floor. Many species of sharks, which are related to rays — also cartilaginous fishes, look nothing like what you imagine a shark looks like. Some are flattened, some guitar-shaped, some look like carpets… Some just look like normal fish with big eyes, strange heads or tails. Shark size ranges from 20 centimeters for the dwarf lantern shark to 18.8 meters for the whale shark – the biggest fish in the sea. The vast majority of shark species have never been known to attack anybody. And humans are decimating sharks at an unprecedented and horrifying rate. We kill 100 to 273 million sharks a year, including those taken for their fins, which are cut off when they’re alive (the sharks are then thrown back into the water, unable to swim and left to die), those entangled in nets and taken by mistake as by-catch. And yet sharks kill only 6 to 8 people a year around the world. So sharks are killing us at perhaps 0.000000029304029 to 0.00000006 the rate we kill them. It is said that overall shark numbers have declined by ninety percent over the past few decades…..More Sharks Stories and Photos

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Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s Fantastic 191 Digital Publications, Photo Book “Diving Into Wildlife” and Beautiful Scarves

Please also visit the following pages:

(1) Prince Hussain’s Digital Brochures That You Can Flick Through

(2) Prince Hussain’s Exhibitions (2004-2020)

(3) Purchase Beautiful Scarves and Prince Hussain’s Photo Book Diving Into Wildlife

Date posted: April 10, 2021.
Last updated: April 10, 2024.

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