It’s hard to imagine Dubai without one of the world’s most well-known malls. The UAE and Dubai have built and achieved numerous world firsts, but The Dubai Mall is really a feat of its own.
More than a Guinness World Record breaker (in fact, it has a few of those), The Dubai Mall redefined the meaning of shopping and entertainment when it opened 14 years ago.
The Dubai Mall opened on November 4, 2008 and was designed by DP Architects. It was completed on the scale of a city, at more than 120 hectares — approximately 50 football fields.
It features open, wide and airy boulevards that lead the way into the many realms of shopping. With more than 1,200 retail spaces (not including pop-ups and stalls), two global department stores — Galeries Lafayette and Bloomingdale's — and more than 200 international dining experiences, a 250-room luxury hotel and 22 cinema screens, it’s no surprise more than 100 million visitors flood there every year.
That figure is more impressive when you consider that The Dubai Mall has attracted more visitors in one year than other global landmarks such as New York City's Times Square and Central Park, even Niagara Falls.
The grand entrance of the mall once housed the Dubai Dino, a 7.6-metre-tall, 24.4-metre-long skeleton of a 155-million-year-old dinosaur. It has now been moved to the Souq Dome, which leads to the gold souq pavilion, designed with intricate and ornate motifs.
Other major attractions include the indoor waterfall and the aquarium and underwater zoo, which houses more than 300 species of marine animals, including sharks and rays. Then there's the Olympic-sized ice rink and, most recently, the mall’s very own immersive digital art gallery Infinity des Lumieres, which has displayed reimagined digital works of Vincent Van Gogh, Kandinsky and Gauguin.
The mall’s Fashion Avenue presents luxury shopping in a unique way. Aside from the engaging installations and stylish interiors, it’s rare to find nearly every international luxury brand from fashion, timepieces and homeware only a short walk from each other, but here you do.
You can't speak of The Dubai Mall and not mention Dubai Fountain, of course. The musically choreographed fountain system on the 12-hectare artificial Burj Khalifa Lake, between the mall and Burj Khalifa, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a year by itself.
It's more than just about impressive numbers or breaking the conventions of what malls are about, though. Like the rest of the UAE, The Dubai Mall is about an experience to remember and showing the world what amazing things can be achieved with creativity, a sense of adventure and a great vision.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
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