Ibn Battuta: The Middle Eastern Marco Polo

Obviously Dubai is known for shopping, but I nevr imagined the grandeur of the malls. Dubai Marina Mall, The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, City Center, Ibn Battuta Mall... I could go on and on and on. These malls are gorgeous and HUGE. Seriously massive. The way they're laid out is cool, too. For example they put all the watch stores together to make it easier for you to compare without having to run around the giant mall. All the chocolate stores are near one another, all the mid-range (H&M, Zara, Mango, etc.) all the super high-end (Dior, Chanel, Louis Vitton, YSL, etc.) together. It's a good idea.

At first I wasn't really interested in the shopping, but walking around the malls was fun, and, really, a cultural experience in many ways. What I didn't expect was to learn something. That's right. One of the malls, Ibn Battuta (my favorite) actually has an educational exhibit in the middle. Please let me explain, but first, enjoy these photos:

Andalusia Court (Arab Spain, essentially):


Tunisia Court:


Egypt Court:

Persia Court (personal favorite):



India Court:



China Court:



Yes, I took these photos IN the Ibn Battuta Mall. The mall's architecture and design, in my mind, has no equal. So Ibn Battuta was essentially the Muslim Marco Polo. Originally from Morocco, Ibn Battuta travelled around a bunch and wrote a journal of his adventures. He's really famous in this area of the world. The mall is themed after his travel adventures. Each "court" represents an area he traveled in and wrote about. You wander around the mall and admire the design, then in the middle there's this cool series of exhibits that tell you all about Ibn Battuta, where he went, what he did, they show spices and musical instruments and pages from the Quaran and fabric and all other kinds of neat things. There's a lot of pride in this man accompanied by a lot of propaganda. The exhibits never forget to remind you that Ibn Battuta was Muslim. "The roots of our Islamic journeyman Ibn Battuta..." "Spreading the word of Islam, Ibn Battuta..." "The first Muslim to..." Anyway, I'm not criticizing it I just find it humorous. I guess we say things like "First American to..." and "This brave American pioneered...", so they're not the only ones to have pride in one of their own.

Hope you learned something (like who Ibn Battuta was) just like I did when I went to the mall. Now that's culture for you!