If you want to see a shopping mall, which is more of an attraction than a shopping place, then you should not miss visiting the beautiful Ibn Battuta Mall. The Ibn Battuta Mall is a genuine place, which we could call an architectural masterpiece is one of the most popular shopping places of Dubai. The shopping mall is so unique that you for sure will need to prepare your cameras to take dozens of photos at the various parts of the shopping mall.
If someone knows Dubai, and have heard of Nakheel projects before, then they will also know that Ibn Battuta Mall is not an ordinary shopping mall of Dubai. Nakheel Projects is the company that has tried to build the most unbelievable wonders within Dubai; it is the most famous for its Palm Islands project and The World island complex. Knowing such company designs a shopping mall too, we can get prepared to see something unbelievable. Indeed, Ibn Battuta Mall is an unbelievable place to be.
Ibn Battuta Mall was named after the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta, whose travel stories went all around the Arabic world inspiring also Dubai, to build a mall that, with respect to Ibn Battuta will represent some of the greatest destinations he has travelled. Of course, all courts are full of worldwide famous brands, housing mainly fashion stores, but you can find just everything else over here.
Built in the memory of Ibn Battuta, an explorer from Morocco, who was in fact the very first traveler who could manage to travel around the world and who in fact drew the very first realistic map if it, the mall would like to signify the most important countries or areas which the traveller has visited. This means, that the mall is divided into separate areas. Each one of these areas bears the architectural style and look as if you would make a quick world tour in one entity. The countries which are represented this way include Andalusia (Spain), Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China. The builders did their very best to give a great and realistic outlook for each segments of the shopping mall, which looks really unique this way. Ibn Battuta Mall is not the biggest shopping mall of Dubai but for sure, it is the most colourful!
Ibn Battuta Mall divides into six parts; and all the six parts have specific decorations to represent a closer or far-away region or culture. The six part’s names are Andalusia, Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China. As we can see, with the exception of China, all regions are in connection with each other, especially in culture. The architecture of Andalusia has long been inspired by the Arabic architecture; thanks to history, when the Arabic conquerors had spend some time in the territory of whole Spain, leaving some of their signature castles and buildings behind.
The Arabic architecture also deeply inspired the architecture of India. The Taj Mahal is the most monumental and the most iconic building of India. It is a monument built by a Moorish Muslim emperor, according to the characteristics of Arabic architecture at that time. When it comes to India, the most famous iconic animal of India is the elephant. There is a beautiful elephant, which can be seen in the Indian Court, which is a miniature of the famous Indian Clock, the original of which can be found in India.
The Persian court of the Ibn Battuta Mall is to represent the most beautiful styles, colours and characteristics created by Muslim architects all over the Arabic countries. We can see much turquoise here, being the famous colour of the Holy Prophet Mohammad. The buildings here are just beautiful. By adding Persia to these courts, Dubai wants to show and symbolise its long-time friendly relation with Iran and Turkey. In addition, Dubai as a Sunni Muslim country wants to represent its goodwill toward Shiite Muslims of Iran.
Ibn Battuta Mall in little Egypt has always been representing the cultural and religious capital of Muslim religion. That is why, Muslims has always put large emphasis on Egypt. As all Muslim countries, Dubai as well has strong relations with Egypt as well. As to represent its high respect for Egypt, Nakheel Properties has also included Egypt among its courts. With the narrow streets of covered souk, the mystic world of Egypt is beautifully recreated over here.
China court within Ibn Battuta Mall is beautifully Chinese, with all the elegance of traditional Chinese architecture. China court also hosts a large catering place with restaurants and bars, together with the IMAX cinema theatre, the one an only in Dubai.
The shopping mall is located in Bur Dubai, very close to the seaside of the district with the Port Rashid and the Dubai Maritime City, which is still under construction. The mall is just a short walk away from the Al Ghubaiba Metro Station and the huge Al Ghubaiba Bus station with around 10 different city buses having their final stations there. The shopping mall is quite close to the main attractions of Bur Dubai, which include the Al Maktoum House or the Dubai Heritage Village. There is also a huge Carrefour hypermarket just in front of the Ibn Battuta Mall.
If we step into Ibn Battuta Mall, not only we can get prepared to shop and look around, but also for a whole cultural travel within Asia, representing so much beauty in all. Ibn Battuta Mall is really one of the most special places of Dubai to be. Ibn Battuta Mall is situated on the Sheikh Zayed Road, near Jebel Ali.
Talking about Ibn Battuta Mall, the shopping mall represents a great variety of stores of all sorts. These range from fashion and Arabic fashion stores to jewelry stores. Each country is represented within the mall in form of courts. Therefore, you can see Persian Court, Egyptian Court and all the other courts when you walk around the mall, which also offers a shuttle for the elderly or for families with babies. The mall has Dubai’s second Debenhams and it offers a great variety of Western fashion stores such as the H&M, Evisu… You can also find many new brands’ alone-standing stores over here; one example is Besty Johnson, whose creations are very famous in the UK. The mall has also much to offer for the luxury shoppers too and it has a nice variety of jewellery stores as well. Ibn Battuta Mall also has a great brand new IMAX movie theatre that makes it the meeting point of locals.
For the tourists, Ibn Battuta Mall is important because it is the place from where the Hot Air Balloon takes off every morning, to show the beauty of Dubai and its deserts from a bird’s perspective. You should not miss this adventure! Yet, Ibn Battuta Mall is an adventure in itself, a great place you should not miss.
