now thats what you call a mall !

now i'm not particularly materialistic in nature therefore plugging the ultimate means by which peoples lives become drowned in consumerism may be a little surprising but this is a far cry from beckton retail park and the like!

The Ibn Battuta mall is named after a very famous islamic scholar during the middle ages who is famed for having travlled the whole breadth of the muslim empire which at the time stretched in the west from andalusia (modern day spain) to as far east as the borders of china. he is renowned for his travels (most of which were done on foot) and was essentially the 'marco polo' of his age. the sections in the mall are themed after the different parts of the world he visited. above shows a reconstruction of some of the scientific research that was being conducted by arab scholars at the time.

an exhibit in the 'India' hall

a junk boat in the 'chinese' hall

architecture from the 'north african' section

whilst the above pic is from a different mall (dubai festival mall i think?!) this staircase come post modern water fall is absolutely amazing. unfortunately the picture doesnt do it jusctice. all along the panels you can see water trickling down and as it does so across the green corrugated marble surface, it shimmers and cathces the light...a real work of art!