It has been noted that Dubai Marina Mall is the smaller brother (or sister?) of Dubai Mall. Well, minus the aquarium and the impersonation of the Chiemsee logo, which basically leaves it as a boring clone with very similar shops, empty corridors and just as many boutiques that haven’t opened yet. The recent opening ceremony didn’t occur at the most auspicious point in the economic cycle, I guess…
What is new is that when I took this picture of the endless rows of shops that will open RSN, a security guard walked up to me and asked me to stop. I remember that on one of the tourist maps I’ve been given it actually states that you have to ask the owner of the mall for permission before taking pictures. That was the first time I’ve seen this rule enforced, though.
Feeling rebellious, I moved up one floor and took another picture – just to spite the powers that be (which would be Emaar Properties, I think):
The cirque du soleil is in town – and having heard a lot about their shows without actually ever attending one, I decided to use this opportunity to see the cirque and Ibn Battuta Mall, where the show takes place. Quite expensive – the cheapest tickets were 300 AED…
Of course I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, so all I can do is add this YouTube video to give you an impression of what I’ve saw:
The places Ibn Battuta has been and the things he bought there
Enter the dragon
However, I can show you some pretty pictures from the Ibn Battuta Mall itself: It is named after Ibn Battuta, a famous Muslim Berber who travelled through almost all of the (then) known world from Marocco to China. For once, this mall also contains some pedagogically valuable displays of Ibn Battuta and the discoveries made in the countries he travelled through. But of course it mainly serves one purpose: shopping. So you can follow Ibn Battuta’s journey through the gates of the forbidden city, past a big gym to the Chinese food court, where you will see Ibn Battuta’s vessel (as always you can click on the pictures to enlarge them):
Chinese Junk
Chinese Junk, slightly stranded
More Chinese junk - pardon, Canadian...
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From there, you pass by one of several starbucks (as was to be expected, all the other famouse chains are represented here as well: KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, you name it…), only to enter India, elephants and everything included:
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Just go ahead and enjoy the emormous spaces and cupolas by running around on the marble floor:
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Before entering Persia:
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From there, you’ll experience a short flash back to the Wafi Mall – Eyptian design and an introduction to their star-gazing galore:
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Five minutes later, you’ll stroll through the pleasant alleys of ancient Tunis – decorated with surprisingly modern street lamps…
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Tired and heavily burdened by our shopping bags, we arrive back in Europe – al-Andalus, present day Spain:
Mercato Mall has a clear theme: Italy. Or at least a very pastel-coloured, kitschy Italy. I’ll leave you with some impressions in images instead of babbling… Oh, and do have a look at their website – the intro says it all, and is just hilarious.
I’m already looking forward to some interesting comments by my Italian friends in Kyrgyzstan… *ducks to dodge some rotten Italian tomatoes
Ramakian Cola - a Mocktail at the Noodle House in the Deira City Centre
One of the advantages of living in a country where “sharia law” is (sort of) applied is that because restaurants need a special license to sell alcoholic beverages, those that don’t serve “Mocktails” instead – mixtures of fruit juices, soda and whatnots but without alcohol.
So finally I too get to choose from a lengthy list of fantastical names to receive a elegant glass with a funny-shaped straw and layers of bizarre colours in it.
(Ah… Getting sloshed, having sex on a public beach, ignoring a warning issued by the police and then attacking the police officer when he returns. And all that in an Islamic country. I’d call that a crime against human intelligence. It’s nice to see that just for once, stupidity is punishable – with three months of prison, in fact. Unfortunately, the sentence was later suspended. Who the heck said that sharia law is too harsh?)
Whoa, horsie!
The particular Mocktail in the picture above (click on picture for a better view) I had at another mall just around the corner: The Deira City Centre. Its main distinctive feature is that it is situated in Deira. Near the city centre. But not having a theme hasn’t prevented its constructors from adding some amazingly creative… well… “thingies”. Some things should make any decent interior decorator shrivel up and die.
I'll have the horse steak, please
Well, let’s face it: malls weren’t built to win a price in style, but convenience. Having lived in developing countries where you can easily spend two full days trying to find a decent piece of chocolate that hasn’t melted several times before it landed on the shelf, I’ll be the first to recognize the advantage of having a big collection of shops in front of your doorstep where you find all the creature comforts you could possibly crave. Go ahead, call me decadent.
Reading through my second-to-last post again, I feel kind of ashamed of breaking all rules of “online journalism” and writing such along post without any pictures or anything else to lighten up things. Sorry! But then again, it was by popular demand. I hope I’ll manage to write some more about my work without it resembling a slab of lead. But first another look on Dubais “light” side – with plenty of pictures (by the way: You can click on all the thumbnails in my blog to see the picture in full size):
Abandon all money, ye who enter the eternal cathedral of shopping
Old rome had a perfect view on the pyramids... and cabs?
Taxis at her mummy majesty's service
Let’s face it: The old city and the souqs are for tourists who don’t have a clue and for immigrants who don’t have money. The “real Dubai” is all about malls. That’s why I decided to explore them in depth and write a report about it. Let’s start with the Wafi Mall.
This mall has a distinct Egyption theme. Well, except for one entrance which rather looks like a Roman version of the parthenon. And the “Real Arab Souq” in the inner courtyard. Anyway, it has a theme.
And you can shop until you drop and get wrapped up in cloth(es) like the ancient pharaos:
Wafi Mall's glass ceiling
Who would have thought? The old pharaos had escalators...
... and elevators.
Oh, the eye for the kitschy detail...
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Ah, well it was fun – although a bit empty: About half the shoppers were actually tourists. The economic crisis seems to strike here as well. On the plus side, I finally found a body shop, and was the only customer there. Yay for shopping!
And this picture proves that Wafi Mall is indeed not just a mall, no, it is part of the Dubai tourism scenery:
Wafi Mall is officially a tourist attraction...
... where visitors from all over the world marvel at the site map
