Where in the world can you travel many countries and continents in comfort in less than an afternoon? I really hate to be an advertisement, but of any mall I have ever been to in the world, this one has had the most imagination and the most beautiful design -- the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai in the UAE. It may not be as record breaking as the Dubai Mall under the Burj tower, but it is more pleasant and every visitor should learn something -- about the namesake Ibn Battuta.
Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan traveller who went around the world centuries before Marco Polo, his most famous European equivalent. He went across the Middle East, completed his Hajj pilgrimmage to Mecca and continued on through India and Asia to China. In order to replicate his route (focusing on the more famous parts, of course!) the mall progresses from China court at one end, which has a food hall and cinema along with an enormous Chinese junk boat, through India Court, Persia Court, Egypt Court, Tunisia Court to finally Andalusia at the other end.
Unfortunately, every time I went there I was not taking photos but focusing on shopping so none of the following photos are mine. It takes a good 15 minutes to walk from end to end as its 1.3km long, unless you get the convenient train!
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| China Court. Image from www.ianandwendy.com |
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| India Court. Image from tripadvisor.com |
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| Egypt Court. Image from timeoutdubai.com |
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| Egypt Court from the outside. Image from flickr.com |
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| Persia Court. Photo from madiganburke.blogspot.com. If you look closely at the Persia Court tiles you will see that they are not really tiles. Innovative workers painted these beautiful creations instead. While this may be a disappointment for traditionalists, it is smart on a commercial scale -- and still beautiful! |
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| Persia Court. Image from www.tripadvisor.com |
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| Tunisia Court. Image from www.uae-businessdirectory.com |
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| Andalusia Court. Image from travelblog.org |
While I am not wishing to advertise a company, the mall website can be found
here.
That sure is a heaven for tourists. And that 15 minutes to walk from end to end of that mall, that is a long walk for sure.
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