The Bathroom-Tiled Taj Mahal
Monday, December 22nd, 2008You may have read in the news recently that a wealthy Bangladeshi film-maker has just finished constructing a ‘replica’ of the Taj Mahal. (Actually, it’s not even finished yet, but it has just opened to the public.)
We went to check it out today near Sonargaon, about 30 kilometres from Dhaka, and even met the builder himself, Ahsanullah Moni, while we were there. And the verdict? Let me just say that Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who ordered the building of the original Taj and who was said to have cut off the hands of the architects and masons upon its completion so they could never again build a monument so beautiful, can rest easy in his grave; the Bangladesh Taj is a kitchy and cheap knock-off of the fabulous original, about five times smaller and with towers that are too fat.
But I’ll let you judge for yourself.
The actual Taj Mahal – Agra, India
The Bangladesh Taj Mahal – near Sonargaon, Bangladesh
Nick