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Mall of ... Ibn Battuta?
I hate malls. The seemingly artificial air, store after store that sells essentially the same unoriginal merchandise, getting lost in the massive concrete parking lots—it’s an American rite that I’d prefer never to have experienced. If they were around in his day, I’m pretty sure Ibn Battuta would have stayed clear of the shopping netherworlds that have become as much a part of our country’s landscape as purple mountain majesties and amber waves of grain. Thus, you can imagine my disgust upon discovering...get ready…Ibn Battuta Mall.
Located in Dubai, Ibn Battuta Mall is, according the website, “the world’s largest themed shopping mall…[with an] exciting mix of over 275 retailers, 50 restaurants and food outlets, 21 cinema screens including the UAE’s only IMAX theatre.”
I thought Roosevelt Field was impressive. To say that Ibn Battuta Mall is just a mall would be a flagrant understatement. The map on the mall’s website resembles that of a multi-terminal airport. Each color-coated section represents a portion of Ibn Battuta’s travels. These include: China, India, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia and Andalusia. The Ibn Battuta theme presents itself in the educational exhibits in each section of the mall. For example, entering the Persian sector evokes a feeling of standing in the buzzing bazaar of a Muslim town. The geometric shapes and arches serve to give viewers—ahem, shoppers—a sense of ancient architecture from the comfort of an overly air-conditioned shopping complex. The Chinese sector includes a Junk, a replica of the type of boat Ibn Battuta would have sailed on to China.
Starbucks in the Persian Sector
So, okay, Ibn Battuta Mall includes some educational substance, “exhibitions” if you will, surrounding the historical figure around which it gets its name. Nonetheless, I cannot get over the irony of this mall. Based on the Anglo-looking blondes that grace its website, the shopping center probably caters mostly to Western tourists, rather than local inhabitants. This begs the question: what could be more touristy than a mall? Ibn Battuta was far from a tourist. He was a traveler.
Ibn Battuta Mall also presents the irony of the anti-American Middle East’s finding that the best way to compete economically is via an institution of wholly American origin: consumerism. The mall, with its mini exhibitions amidst hundreds of stores and greasy dining options bears unsettling parallel with the Epcot Theme Park and its World Showcase area. Both the mall and Epcot are designed to entice consumers into shopping while providing a front that they are really there for a fun educational adventure. Its similarity to Epcot also makes it easy to look at Ibn Battuta Mall and determine that there it is again: globalization.
Epcot's rendition of China
Ibn Battuta, along with Marco Polo, Herodotus and Homer, proves that globalization is not the new phenomenon that people so often consider it. Ibn Battuta, along with the other travelers studied so far, shows that human contact and interaction has been around for centuries. Ibn Battuta Mall and the ironies it presents serve as evidence of the interconnectedness of today’s world with that of the past.
Location
Dubai
Globalization
That mall is a perfect example of globalization. I believe that globalization is really a product of consumerism. There was travel and a (very small) exchange of ideas in the times of Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo, but these were only the seeds of globalization. That mall is a perfect example of what a globalized world really is: an idea of one culture thematically applied to that of another. An Ibn Battuta themed mall, as you pointed out. I think it was really full-scale trade that began to embody what globalization stands for. The travel/tourism industries, or the modern food industry, are also great example of globalization.
Royalties?
What I wonder when I read this, is does the mall have to pay to use Ibn Battuta’s name? And if they do, who do they have to pay? It would be cool if you were Ibn Battuta’s distant relative and you were collecting money based on the commercial use of his name. I guess that could either be considered cool or selling out, whatever your point of view is. What about Marco Polo? I believe there are a number of products that use his likeness. I wonder if there are any restrictions in use of these famed explorers names commercially or if is free for anyone with a wacky idea to use one of these names for profit.
Artificial Reality
This is crazy. I came across it in my research as well, but didn't open the link. I wouldn't have guessed that the design and atmosphere of the mall would have continued with the 'theme' of Ibn Battuta. It's almost like the tourists in Dubai are being tricked into thinking they are engaging in a cultural experience when, really they are shopping at the GAP. Stuff like this is frightening to me--the further we stray from authenticity the more I wonder what authenticity actually is. There is a place called "The Grove" around where I live in Southern California that I refuse to go to because of its artificiality. I wonder if the world itself will take on the characteristics of a super-mall in a couple hundred years. That's a scary thought. But I guess if the shoppers of the Ibn Battuta mall spend enough time to see the pseudo exhibits and read the history, an ordinary shopping day could turn into something educational....maybe.
That mall looks crazy! As I
That mall looks crazy! As I was reading your post, I initially thought this reminds me of Epcot as well. I was looking at the website and it says that the Persia court, "the jewel in Ibn Battuta Mall's crown", houses retail stores like H&M and Forever 21, in addition to the Starbucks you have pictured above. Besides the architecture and "exhibitions", like you point out, it is nothing but a consumer mecca. To brand the mall with Ibn Battuta's name, a man who was interested in learning about and discovering new cultures, is ironic, especially with a Pizza Express in the Chinese Court.