Ibn Battuta Mall

Ibn Battuta Mall is the world’s largest themed shopping mall and consists of six stylised courts. Their design is inspired by the different regions through which the 14th-century Moroccan Berber explorer Ibn Battuta travelled: Egypt, India, China, Andalusia, Persia and Tunisia.

Here you will find a magnificent hand painted dome in the Persia Court, pyramids in the Egypt Court , a striking lion fountain in Andalusia Court, a huge Chinese junk in China Court, and in India Court a life-sized reproduction of the elephant water clock devised by the 12th century Mesopotamian engineer, al-Jazari.

There are 335 shops with anchor stores Carrefour in Tunisia Court, Debenhams, Sharaf DG in China Court and Decathlon.

There are also 50 restaurants, a 21-screen Novo Cinema including an IMAX theatre, a Switch Bowling alley in India Court, a children’s entertainment centre, and a gymnasium.

If you cannot bear to leave the place you can stay in one of the 5-star Movenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel’s 396 rooms and suites.

In 2016 a 300,000sq ft extension opened adding 60 more stores, but that’s small fry compared to the massive expansion planned for the future, the highlight of which is a 300,000 sq. ft. central courtyard with lush green landscaping under a retractable glass roof.

The 4.7 million sq ft expansion will include a new cinema complex, a two-storey link connecting the mall to Ibn Battuta metro station, a second hotel and a 24-hour food court.

In all the expansion will create an 18 million sq ft, mixed-use retail, entertainment, hospitality, office and residential development, doubling the size of the mall and including six office towers, 2,700 new hotel keys, 1,500 residential units, and parking for 18,000 cars.

The expansion connects the mall to the Dubai Metro Red Line.

In the third phase, a 500,000 sq ft domed entertainment area will include a large children’s entertainment area as well as nightclubs, live performance theatres, and additional dining areas around a central lagoon and rainforests. A rollercoaster will cross the domed area.

Ibn Battuta Mall is located at The Gardens between interchanges 5 and 6 on Sheikh Zayed Road and at Ibn Battuta metro station on the Red Line.