Dubai, not Agra is Taj Mahal's new address

06 October, 2012

Adding to the list of endless tourist destinations, Dubai is looking forward to building a replica of Taj Mahal. Built in their own way, with added attractions, Dubai's Taj Mahal would be called Taj Arabia.

ONE OF the world's seven wonders - Taj Mahal - is being replicated by Dubai. The country that attracts a lot of tourists from all over the world will add another attraction to their list. The monument would be four times bigger than the original Taj Mahal but it would not be an 100 percent replica as the developers want to add certain features to what they are calling as Taj Arabia.

The monument that has many interesting anecdotes attached is one of the heritage sites of India, built by emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal. History has it that the emperor did not want this mausoleum to be replicated and thus went to the extent of slashing the wrists of workers after they finished its construction.

Surely, had he been around he would not have been pleased after hearing the news. There are a number of people in India who share his view. Priyanka Gupta asked, “Why are they building another Taj? Isn't it against the rule?”

Vinod Sharma was, however concerned that the replica will drain tourists from India. “A lot of people visit India solely for Taj Mahal. If another Taj Mahal is built, then a lot of people might not be inclined to travel to India for the Taj only.” The developers in Dubai are not only planning to replicate the Taj Mahal but they are also saying that they would build it in 2 years, as opposed to the 22 years of the original Taj.

As was reported by samachar.com, this billion dollar project would be located in the heart of the 41-million square foot Falcon City of Wonders on the Emirates Road. Like the original Taj Mahal, this place would also signify love. The Taj Arabia will also house a hotel with 300 rooms for their guests and there would also be seven mixed-use buildings, two of which will have 200 serviced apartments.

The makers are aiming at booming exotic marriage locations and tourism. Stating that marriage is a celebration they can see the trend of famous people going to beachside or exotic places to get married and Taj Arabia will house such an ambiance for a hefty price of course. Gulf News quoted Arun Mehra, chairman of the Link Global Group, sub-developers of the mega project, as saying, “Traditionally in the UAE and the sub-continent, marriage is not just a union of two people but also their families. The serviced apartments beside Taj Arabia will be ideal for wedding guests as they will have 10 large bedrooms and a hall. We want to create an atmosphere which bonds family members.”

To Akshay Kumar, who asked, “ If Dubai is building Taj Mahal, can we build Statue of Liberty and the leaning Tower of Pisa?”, I must say that even in that respect Dubai is faster as Dubai's Falcon City of Wonders already has the Pyramids, Hanging Gardens, Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China, Leaning Tower of Pisa and now it would be Taj Mahal.”