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From Agra to Abu Dhabi: Why India's Taj Mahal made me think of my UAE home

thenationalnews.com · 4h · first reportShare

One of the first things I thought of when I saw the Taj Mahal was the UAE , the place I call home. Standing in front of one of India ’s most recognisable historic structures, my mind went almost immediately to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi – another vast white-marble landmark, another expression of Islamic architecture and another building that has become inseparable from the country in which it stands. The similarities ended there, or at least, they quickly became more complicated. The Taj Mahal was built in Agra nearly four centuries ago by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a modern UAE landmark, completed in 2007 and conceived as an expression of the country’s contemporary identity. One emerged from the Mughal empire; the other from a young federation looking to the future. I had come to India as one of three journalists from the UAE on a programme organised by the country's Ministry of External Affairs