Wealthy Bangladeshi filmmaker Ahsanullah Moni has built a life-size replica of the Taj Mahal that features granite from Italy and diamonds from Belgium.  The structure, which is located eighteen miles northeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city, cost 58 million dollars to complete.

“Everyone dreams about seeing the Taj Mahal but very few Bangladeshis can make the trip because it’s too expensive for them,” explained Moni.  He hopes that his version of the Taj will draw both local and international tourists.  Currently, Bangladesh draws less than one-tenth of a one percent of visitors who come to Asia-Pacific region.

The original Taj Mahal, located in Agra, India, took tens of the thousands of workers over twenty years to complete.  It was built in the 17th century by the emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal.  Shah Jahan had materials imported from all over the world, including forty different types of gemstones, pearls, and diamonds.  Many of the diamonds and other precious stones have been looted from the Taj Mahal over the last hundreds of years.

By contrast, Moni’s replica Taj Mahal took five years to build.  “I used the same marble and stone as in the original Taj,” he said.  “We used machinery, which is why it took less time.” The diamonds for Moni’s replica Taj came from Belgium.  Antwerp, Belgium’s capital, is widely-recognized as the world’s center for diamonds.

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