Iraq gets a White House as Kurdish tycoon builds a replica
Shihab N. Shihab reckons he’s going one better than U.S. President Barack Obama. After admiring the White House in Washington for its “beauty and simplicity,” the Kurdish businessman is building a $20 million replica in the Iraqi city of Erbil replete with layers of Italian 21-carat gold leaf covering banisters and ceilings and Greek marble […]Donna Abu-Nasr writes for Bloomberg:
Shihab N. Shihab reckons he’s going one better than U.S. President Barack Obama. After admiring the White House in Washington for its “beauty and simplicity,” the Kurdish businessman is building a $20 million replica in the Iraqi city of Erbil replete with layers of Italian 21-carat gold leaf covering banisters and ceilings and Greek marble columns that grace the entrance. “I get to keep my bedroom for the rest of my life while Obama has to vacate it when his term ends,” Shihab, 58, said with a chuckle during a tour of the premises last week.
