Much has been said and written about 'Ski Dubai' the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East - and it really is surreal to enter the huge Mall of the Emirates to find ski slopes and all inside the mall. A sign showed that it was -4 degrees Celsius inside (24.8F):
(Ski Dubai inside Mall of the Emirates, Dubai)
(Ski Dubai inside Mall of the Emirates, Dubai)
Apart from the ski slopes, Mall of the Emirates was quite similar to many other malls I have seen in Kuwait and Dubai only larger.
A mall that stands out from the rest, however, is the Ibn Battuta Mall in the southern part of Dubai. Apparently it is the world's largest themed mall and it is based on the travels of the famous Arabic explorer Ibn Battuta (born 1304). The different parts of the mall represent some of the major regions he traveled to and later described in writing - Andalusia, Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China.
(Ibn Battuta Mall - entrance in the Persia section)
(Ibn Battuta Mall - the Persia section. Talk about a great location for Starbucks!)
(Ibn Battuta Mall - the Persia section)
(Camella - a shop dedicated to camel merchandise, Ibn Battuta Mall)
Of course there is an exhibition about Ibn Battuta's life and many journeys as well, showcasing some of the things he brought home.
(Ibn Battuta exhibition, Ibn Battuta Mall)
It was a really nice exhibition - complete with an interactive computer game about his travels and the destinations he visited:
(Ibn Battuta game, Ibn Battuta Mall)
I didn't know (but I am happy - I can live without alcohol but it would be hard to live without coffee :):
(Ibn Battuta exhibition, Ibn Battuta Mall)
(The China section, Ibn Battuta Mall - note the IMAX theatre in the background)
(The China section, Ibn Battuta Mall)
In my previous post - The Bustling Dubai Creek - I wrote about how 42% of the population of Dubai is from India. This also shows in the movie schedule - 5 of the moves showing are Indian:
(IMAX movie theatre, Ibn Battuta Mall)
(India section, Ibn Battuta Mall)
The entire Gulf region appears to be very children-friendly with many amusement parks and children's activities but I had never seen this before:
(Animals on wheels, India section, Ibn Battuta Mall)
In my opinion the most impressive mall is the Dubai Mall. The world's largest mall (until someone decides to outdo it) with more than 1,200 shops and 150 food outlets, an olympic size ice skating rink, a gold souq, an aquarium and underwater zoo and with the world's largest fountain and the world's tallest building right outside! Not the kind of place you spend only 20 minutes!
The ceiling is covered with twinkling 'stars' - of course you would expect nothing less from a place like this:
(Section of the ceiling, Dubai Mall)
As I mentioned, Dubai Mall is also home to the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. From the outside it has the word's largest viewing pane (I am sure that by now you have realized that everything here is some kind of 'the largest, the biggest, the tallest'). It is 32.8 meters wide and 8.3 meters tall (107.6 Ft x 27.2 Ft) - and it really is big!
(Dubai Aquarium viewing pane - seen from two floors above)
(Dubai Aquarium viewing pane - seen from two floors above)
You may have heard that in end February of this year the viewing pane cracked and water started pouring out (much to the annoyance of those concerned with Dubai's perfect image). You can see the you tube video here. This is no laughing matter as the aquarium holds some 10 million litres of water (2.6 million gallons) and a break would cause serious damage to the structure of the entire mall not to mention the risk to people in the vicinity.
Children's fashion - Spring collection 2010. Certainly something for everyone...:
(Store window, children's clothes, Dubai Mall)
(Huge ceiling decorations in the colors of the United Arab Emirates flag)
(Mall interior)
(Mall interior)
The Dubai Ice Rink inside the mall is olympic-sized. No wonder these men stopped to take a closer look - an ice rink in the middle of the desert. In Dubai the impossible is possible.
(Dubai Ice Rink in the Dubai Mall)
With more than 1,200 shops it's no wonder that the mall directory is BIG and that the different levels are divided into coordinates. Actually they have found a very clever solution to the problem of locating a store: touch-screen terminals are scattered around the mall. You click the screen for Arabic or English, choose what store (or kind of store) you are looking for and it then shows you (with interactive steps) how to go from where you are to the store you are looking for - quite clever and very necessary!
(Dubai Mall directory - goes on forever)
(A mixture of new and old architecture)
(Strings of butterflies hanging from the ceiling)
(Strings of butterflies hanging from the ceiling in the top end of the mall where all the luxury brands and an Armani Café are located)
The Dubai Mall is also home to these 'waterfalls' that have already become iconic. The men are close to life-sized and it is very dramatic to watch from below:
(The Dubai Mall waterfalls - 3 storeys high)
(The Dubai Mall waterfalls - 'men' in free fall toward the bottom)
(The Dubai Mall waterfalls - 'men' in free fall toward the bottom)
(The Dubai Mall waterfalls - 'men' in free fall toward the bottom)
(The Dubai Mall waterfalls - close-up of one of the 'men')
The interior of the Dubai Mall is certainly impressive, but what is right outside the doorstep is not bad either...
(The Dubai Mall - or at least a part of it - seen from the outside)
(From the Dubai Mall there is this bridge to a beautifully done souq. The man in the boat is looking out for garbage...)
(The souq next to Dubai Mall)
Just as a p.s.: inside the souq is one of the supermarkets that has a license to sell pork meat - in a sepearate room so that no one picks it up by mistake and so that it does not come into contact with the other products:
(The pork section in a Dubai supermarket)
Right in front of Dubai Mall lots of people are taking pictures...:
...of the word's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa (formerly known as the Burj Dubai until the ruler of Abu Dhabi had to support Dubai with financial help and as a token of gratitude had the building named after him - must have hurt Dubai).
It is 828 meters tall (2,717 Ft) and houses a residential area as well as an Armani Hotel and Suites. It was opened earlier this year but recently closed again after problems with the lifts to the viewing platform (another blow to those concerned about Dubai's image...)
(Burj Khalifa)
With its 828 meters and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa has the following records (for as long as it lasts until someone builds something taller):
- Tallest building in the world
- Tallest free-standing structure in the world
- Highest number of stories in the world
- Highest occupied floor in the world
- Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
- Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
- Tallest service elevator in the world
If only they could get those elevators to work...
(Burj Khalifa)
(Window cleaning on the world's tallest building - not for the faint-hearted)
(Structure next to the Burj Khalifa)
(Reflections of other buildings in the Burj Khalifa)
Workers are still working hard to finish the last details on the Burj Khalifa including the landscaping:
(Workers cutting stone for the pave-ways)
(2 workers taking a break - maybe enjoying the view of the Dubai Mall, the lake and the souq)
(Workers by the Burj Khalifa and part of the new Dubai skyline in the background)
Next to Dubai Mall is also The Address - a five-star luxury hotel:
(The Address behind the souq and the lake)
(The souq and some of the city's most expensive property - all the things in the lake are part of the Dubai Fountain)
(Part of the new Dubai skyline at sunset)
Spot the local :)
(Emirati - one of very few)
Each night the Dubai Fountain gives beautiful shows every half hour and it has become a tourist destination in itself. The fountain combines water, music and light and is quite impressive - it shoots water as high as 150 meters into the air (500 ft) or the equivalent of a 50-storey building!
The fountain itself is 275 meters long (900 ft) with five circles. The people who designed the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas are behind it and there are so many different performances inspired by the entire world - not two seem to be the same.
(Dubai Fountain - the show starts)
(Dubai Fountain with The Address in the background)
(Dubai Fountain- look how excited the man at the bottom is - but it is hard not to be excited. The Address is 63-stories tall, that gives you an idea of the height of the fountain)
(Dubai Fountain)
(Dubai Fountain - with so many different patterns formed by water)
(Dubai Fountain)
(Dubai Fountain)
On one evening we were there, we had a juice in one of the outdoor cafés in the Dubai Mall - and these views of the Burj Khalifa (which I personally like best at night when it is lit up) and the lake:
(Evening view of Burj Khalifa and the lake)
(Evening view of Burj Khalifa)
(Evening view of Burj Khalifa, the lake and the fountain)
(Evening view of Burj Khalifa - too big to fit in the camera frame)
We decided to go to the bar on the 63rd floor of The Address from where the views of the fountain are superb:
(The fountain seen from the 63rd-floor bar of The Address)
(Even from the 63rd floor you still have to look up to see the top of Burj Khalifa - it just goes on forever!)
(View from the 63rd floor)
(Dubai fountain seen from the 63rd floor)
(Dubai fountain seen from the 63rd floor)
(Detail from the bar on the 63rd floor)
Ok, so the picture isn't great but I thought it was funny to see the world's tallest building coming out of my drink... It had been a long but great day :)
(Drink with Burj Khalifa to stir)
