Will a replica of Indias Taj Mahal in Bangladesh also draw tourists?
By Yusof Sulaiman, eTN Asia/Pacific | Dec 10, 2008 Tourists from around the world can now opt for which Taj Mahal to visit: the original in India, or its replica in Bangladesh. After work started in 2003, a life-size replica structure of the original Taj Mahal, located 30km northeast of Dhaka, is now almost ready to open its doors to tourists. “Everyone dreams about seeing the Taj Mahal, but very few Bangladeshis can make the trip because they are poor and it’s too expensive for them,” said wealthy benefactor/filmmaker Ahsanullah Moni, describing his reason for pouring US$58 million of his money into his “dream” project. “I hope it will be as big a draw to local and foreign tourists as the original.” Moni made six trips to India after first being inspired by the beauty of the original Taj Mahal in 1980. Not disclosing whether he was also inspired by a woman in his life, like the inspiration behind the original Taj Mahal, he set about to follow his dream to replicate the original Taj Ma
