Ibn Battuta Mall

Ibn Battuta Mall
Location	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Coordinates	25°02′40″N 55°07′14″E / 25.04444°N 55.12056°ECoordinates: 25°02′40″N 55°07′14″E / 25.04444°N 55.12056°E
Opening date	2005
Management	Nakheel Properties
Owner	Nakheel Properties
Website	www.IbnBattutaMall.com

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The Ibn Battuta Mall is a large shopping mall on the Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai close to Interchange 6 for Jebel Ali Village. It is named after Berber Moroccan famous traveller and explorer Ibn Battuta. This project was completed by the Nakheel Properties group in early 2005. The names of the six courts of the mall are named after the countries and regions to which Ibn Battuta travelled.

The mall is split into six main courts:

Linking shopping and circulation areas, all the major outlets found in almost all of the shopping malls elsewhere in Dubai and the Middle East are represented. Géant, a large French supermarket chain has a store here. The mall is an example of one of the many ambitious projects by Nakheel Properties in Dubai. Australian retail giant Myer has announced that it will have a store completed by 2010.

Ibn Battuta Mall boasts the only IMAX theatre in the country and also offers a 21-screen Cinema Megaplex, located in the China Court. There are two large food courts, located at both ends (Andalusia and China) of the mall, as well as several coffee shops, scattered throughout the mall.The mall features exhibits of ancient technological inventions, especially from the Middle East.

The interiors of this portion of the mall depicts typical Chinese interior elements and motifs like that of dragons etc. and adds to the heritage of Chinese architecture, tradition and culture.The china court features a mock up of an old style Chinese sail ship featuring a stage in front of it for social activities and lounge space also accommodating the casual audiences viewing the on-stage activities. In addition, the court contains a cinema with the region's first IMAX theatre.

Stores include:

Axiom Telecom
Starbucks
Borders
Swarovski
GO Sport
Magrabi Optical
Beyond the Beach
Pairs
Baby Phat
Sharaf
Fitness First
Thomsun/Yamaha/Sing and Swing Music Shop and School
BooksPlus
Strandbags
UAE Exchange

[edit] India Court

The India Court showcases and exhibits cultural elements of the Indian subcontinent (spanning modern-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). Elaborate with extensive details of the typical South Asian interior elements, this part of the mall is accredited to the South Asian architectural style. It features a large lounge space under its interior dome which accommodates seasonal sales and activities of the mall. These include as a centrepiece a modern full-size working reproduction of an Elephant Clock, an Islamic invention consisting of a water-powered clock in the form of an elephant.

The reproduction elephant clock in the Ibn Battuta Mall.

[edit] Persia Court

The Persian court features extensive Persian motifs and a wonderfully decorated domed ceiling of Persian Style. The Lounge below the court's domed ceiling features the famous Starbucks Cafe.

Panoramic View outside Persia Court Entrance

[edit] Gallery

The Egypt court at the Ibn Battuta Mall, on opening day
Debenhams store, located in the Persian Court
Mall interior
Fountain in Andalusia Court
A display compares the size of ships used by Zheng He and by Christopher Columbus.
Persian Court