Shopping Centre shopping in Middle East
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Dubai Mall
With around 1200 stores, this is not merely a mall but a small city unto itself, with an Olympic-size ice rink, a huge aquarium, indoor theme parks and 160 food outlets. There’s a strong European label presence here, alongside Galeries Lafayette department store from France, Hamley’s toy store from the UK and the first Bloomingdale’s outside the United States. It’s a ginormous, daylit mall with wide aisles and lots of open spaces, atriums and even a fashion catwalk. The four floors are divided into ‘precincts’ with clusters of product categories: search for high-end designers on Fashion Ave (which has marble floors and silver resting divans), high-street fashions on the g…
reviewed
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City Center-Doha
The largest of the Middle East's shopping palaces, City Center-Doha is a veritable pantheon of the shopping world. The food halls in this shopping complex include all the usual Westerin fast-food outlets in opulent surroundings. Also the best cinemas are located in City Center-Doha. They show the latest Hollywood blockbusters and the occasional film from Iran or Europe.
With its 350 shops, from Debenhams to the Family Development Centre (top floor, selling local crafts); tented architecture, marble flooring and glass-fronted lifts; its ice-skating rink, bowling alleys and climbing walls; its congregations of juice-sipping Qataris and huddles of homesick expatriates; and t…
reviewed
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B
Auditorium Mall
Auditorium Mall , Located in the Carmel Centre next to the Cinematheque. It's small, but handy if you are staying in the area, and contains a Steimatzky bookshop, supermarket and pharmacy.
reviewed
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Safeway, Shmeisani
There is an outlet of Safeway, Shmeisani around 500m southwest of the Sports City junction.
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Ibn Battuta Mall
The shopping here is only so-so but this mall is still worth a visit for its stunning architecture and design tracing the waystations of 14th-century Arab scholar and traveller Ibn Battuta. It’s divided into six sections, each reflecting a region he visited, including Tunisia, Andalusia and Egypt. The most stunning is the Persia Court, which is crowned by an amazing handpainted dome. The centrepiece of the China Court is a full-size Chinese junk, while in the India Court you can pose with an 8m-high elephant. Surprisingly, there’s nothing kitsch or ‘Disney’ about this place – the craftsmanship and attention to detail are simply stunning. There’s also an exhibit about Ibn …
reviewed
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Wafi Mall
Westerners mistakenly bypass palatial Wafi in favour of the behemoth shopping malls, which explains why it’s so quiet. Their loss. It may have once resembled a third-rate airport terminal, but the new wing’s stained-glass pyramids are stunning (come before sunset). Emirati women love Wafi’s fancy French stores like Chanel and Givenchy, but you may well prefer sussing out lesser-known regional boutiques. Also duck into the basement to browse around Souk Khan Murjan, which has stunning decor (check out the stained-glass ceiling and carved pillars) and a good if pricey selection of crafts and goods from around the Arabian world. Alas, it too is practically deserted.
reviewed
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F
Karama Shopping Centre
A visually unappealing concrete souq, Karama’s bustling backstreet shopping area is crammed with stores selling handicrafts and souvenirs, ‘genuine fake’ watches and knock-off designer clothing. Since much of the latter is produced in Asian countries, sizes are likely to run small. In other words, if you normally wear a size S and now need XL, it’s probably not because you overindulged at those brunches. Prices are low, but bargaining lowers them further – be adamant. Listen for the cries of hucksters hawking pirated copies: ‘Dee-vee-dees! Bloo moovees!’ The municipality seems to look the other way.
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Boulevard at Jumeirah Emirates Towers
If you feel like you’re being watched, you are. Emirates Towers is the location of Sheikh Mohammed’s offices, and the secret police are everywhere. Dress appropriately and keep your voice down as you nose around exclusive designer boutiques like Bulgari, Cartier, Zegna, Armani, Gucci, Jimmy Choo and Pucci. Don’t miss the wearable art of Azza Fahmy Jewellery. At day’s end, sip chardonnay at Agency, sing karaoke at Harry Ghatto’s or refuel at the ever-popular Noodle House.
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BurJuman Centre
BurJuman has one of the highest concentrations of high-end labels and an easy-to-navigate floor plan with wide expanses of shiny marble. Max out your credit card at over 320 top purveyors, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Dolce&Gabbana, Donna Karan, Kenzo, Calvin Klein, Etro, Christian Lacroix, Cartier and Tiffany. There’s a neat food court on the 3rd floor and a tourist office desk on Level 1 in the North Village. The mall is also a stop on the Big Bus Company route. Bonus: free wi-fi.
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Al-Ghurair City
If seeing all those flowing robes has made you want your own checked gutra (white head cloth worn by men in the Gulf States), grab yours at this ageing mall. The place to shop for national dress, it offers stylish abbeyas (full-length black robes worn by women) and shaylas (headscarves), quality leather sandals, and dishdashas (men’s shirt-dresses) in chocolate and slate (popular for winter). There are also a couple of dozen fabric stores and a Spinneys supermarket.
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Dubai Festival City
Billed as an ‘urban retail resort’, Festival City is so massive that you half expect to see a 787 parked outside. It encompasses a whopping 260,000 sq m and includes 600 stores – 25 of them ‘anchor stores’ – 100 restaurants and cafes, outdoor performance spaces, three enormous hotels and a golf resort. While the man-made canals and abra rides are cute, the real show-stopper is the origami-inspired cubist fountain that doubles as a grand staircase. Wear sensible shoes – you’re gonna need ’em.
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Mercato Mall
One of the most attractive malls in Dubai, Mercato blends the grandeur of a European train station with the playfulness of an Italian palazzo. Think soaring murals and an arched glass ceiling. It’s fun to wander among the brick colonnades and the compact size makes shopping here less overwhelming than at other malls. There are a few stylish boutiques like Fleurt, a small Topshop, a Virgin Megastore, and some interesting carpet and curio shops.
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Central Souq
Also called the Blue Souq, the Central Souq is a beautiful two-part building designed in an appealing, if flashy, Arabic style. The ground floor has mostly modern jewellery, watches and designer clothing, while the little stores upstairs sell pashminas, rugs and curios from such far-flung places as Afghanistan and Rajasthan. If possible, come in the evenings – only tourists shop here during the day.
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Mall of the Emirates
The most popular mall in Dubai – and the second biggest after Dubai Mall – sprawls with acres of polished white marble. The curiosity of Ski Dubai is a major draw, as are the remarkably good food court and comfortable multiplex with its Gold Class screening room. The downside is that relatively narrow walkways and lack of daylight make it feel a tad claustrophobic at peak periods.
reviewed
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Jerusalem Mall
The Jerusalem Mall contains a supermarket, movie theatre, fast-food joints and retail outlets. It is attractively designed with arched skylights, but it’s a bit far from the city centre to be of much use to the casual traveller. Take bus 31 from King George V St or bus 6 from the Central Bus Station to get out here.
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Dizengoff Centre
Israel's first mall, the Dizengoff Centre is a bustling centre of commerce filled with cafés, fast food joints and retail shops. It also has two cinemas, a supermarket a couple of fitness centres and an indoor pool. An Israeli food fair is held on Thursday and Friday. It has also an exchange desk at the top floor.
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Souk al-Bahar
Souk al-Bahar is Downtown Dubai’s answer to Souq Madinat Jumeirah. As such, shops are primarily geared to the tourist market but there are also some gems, such as Indian couture at Samsaara and stylish gifts at 50 Degrees. Spinneys supermarket in the basement has all the basics.
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Star Superstores Ltd
The largest supermarket in the downtown, with a reputation for reasonable prices, is the Star Superstores Ltd found inside the Corniche Commercial Centre. With its selection of fresh fruit, cheeses, freshly baked breads and olives, it's a good place for preparing a picnic. It also sells baby food.
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Jumeirah Emirates Towers Shopping Bouvelard
This exclusive shopping arcade in Emirates Towers is home to swish designer boutiques such as Armani and Gucci on ground level, and Pucci and Jimmy Choo upstairs, along with our favourite, chic Villa Moda. Noodle House is here when you need to refuel, and The Agency for shopping post-mortems.
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Abdoun Mall
Mall mania is sweeping through areas of Amman. The biggest is Mecca Mall in the northwestern suburbs, with a cinema, bowling alley, video arcade and dozens of restaurants. Abdoun Mall is a smaller version of the same thing. More are bound to follow.
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Marina Mall
The biggest and glitziest mall in town, located on the Breakwater, is shaped like a big-top circus, although it's inspiration is supposedly the Bedouin tent. It has several hundred shops, cinemas, a viewing tower, and a snow park is currently under construction.
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Khalifa Centre
For more souvenirs (sheesha pipes, camel-bone boxes, stuffed leather camels, tapestries, cushion covers etc) head to the Khalifa Centre , across the road from Abu Dhabi Mall, where you'll find a dozen stores selling handicrafts and carpets.
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Opera Tower Shopping Centre
The Opera Tower Shopping Centre, located at the top of Allenby St and Herbert Samuel Esplanade, also contains shops and a cinema. It's a modern, fashionable place with a convenient location near the hotels and the beach.
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Shopping in Salmiya
Salmiya is undoubtedly the shopping district of Kuwait. The main street, Hamad al-Mubarak St, is known as the 'Champs Elysée' of the Middle East and is filled with dazzling shopping malls.
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Azrieli Centre
The first three floors of the Azrieli Centre are also taken up by a shopping mall and cinema. There is a mixed bag here of upmarket shops and chain retail outlets, plus a better than average food court.
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