SIDELINES //
Bangladesh’s Taj Mahal Knockoff
by Melanie Chamberlain
The real Taj Mahal © Christian Haugen
On a plot of farmland outside Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, there stands a reproduction of India’s Taj Mahal. The replica is the work of Ahsanullah Moni, a Bangladeshi filmmaker and hotelier.
Moni was inspired by a visit to the real Taj Mahal in 1980 and since beginning construction he has reportedly poured 58 million dollars into the imitation Taj.
Despite the high price tag, Moni’s aspirations have not dwindled.
“I will build a pyramid bigger than the one in Egypt…It will be my next gift to Bangladesh.”
Looks like Moni is just one Eiffel Tower short of a Vegas strip replica.
Get the entire story and video at the Huffington Post.
You might be interested in related posts tagged with: Asia, Bangladesh, Culture, India, Sidelines
You Might Also Like
About the Author
Melanie Chamberlain is a coffee addict, cheap wine connoisseur and a semi-professional "real life" avoider. She blogs about her (mis)adventures traipsing around the world at girlwithgumption.com and overshares via twitter @grlwithgumption.
Our Sponsors
ACP Rail offers the affordable Japan Rail Pass
Cheap Spain Travel Insurance for your holidays from www.globelink.co.uk
Advertise Here - contact us to get started today!
As Seen In
August 23rd, 2011
The fake Taj did not cost $58M. From the article you linked to:
“His Taj would be built using modern methods and cost $58 million” read earlier, pre-construction articles. But in reality, “In size and proportion the attraction bears only a slight resemblance to the Indian wonder, as if made from a sketch or a decade-old memory. It might have cost $58,000 to build. The central structure and its four minarets were obviously clad in bathroom tiles…”
August 24th, 2011
In the video at the bottom of Dan Morrison’s blog post Reuters reports that Moni has spent 58 million on the project.
Morrison is simply using a turn of phrase to state that despite the claims of a high price tag, the Taj replica is not as extravagant as expected–a sentiment shared by many Bangladeshi.
Check out http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/12/15/bangladesh-bloggers-unearth-the-fake-taj-mahal-scam/ for more opinions on the project.
August 24th, 2011
Heythere — Thanks for posting this trifle. Reuters and the rest bought Moni’s tale and ran with it. But there’s no way he spent one million dollars on his Taj, much less 58 of them. The world loves a showman,and showmen embellish. Moni’s business card has a picture of his hotel, a shining and modern 12-story glass tower. The real hotel, just across the street from his movie house, is five stories of dingy concrete. Best/DM