The Dubai Mall is a shopping mall in Dubai completed in 2008. It is the largest mall in the world by total land area. It has a total retail floor area of 502,000 square metres. The mall has over 1,200 shops. In 2011, it was the most visited building in the world. Every year it has over 54 million visitors. It ranks 26th in the world in terms of gross usable space.
Dubai Mall
Its facilities include a 250-room luxury hotel, 22 cinema screens plus 120 restaurants and cafes. The Mall has over 14,000 parking spaces across 3 car parks, with valet services and a car locator ticketing system. The Mall also has Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink for skating.
The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, with more than 300 species of marine animals, including sharks and rays, is located in the Dubai Mall. VR Park Dubai is also located in the Mall. It has a floor area of 76,000 sq ft.
The park is dedicated to virtual reality under the name of VR Park Dubai. Reel Cinemas is a 22-screen cinema located in the mall that has four cinema suites, and 17 commercial halls. Rainforest Cafe opened in 2009 faces the aquarium and is made to emulate tropical ruins with moving ruins and light shows. Hysteria is a haunted house. It is decorated with special effects, fog lights and strobe lights. KidZania is an interactive children’s sized edutainment theme park.
Dubai Mall is owned by Emaar Properties, one of the biggest developers in Dubai.
There are many packages available to suit your preference. You will need to consider timings, locations, what to wear, inclusions in your ticket etc to choose a package. Most tours include return transfers. This option is not applicable for hotels located in Sharjah or Abu Dhabi. Desert safari entertainment options like belly dance, tanoura dance and alcohol serving will not be available during Ramadan and occasions like Eid, Islamic New Year and the Prophet’s birthday.
Pregnant women, children under the age of 2 and adults above 70 are not permitted to try desert safari activities like dune-bashing, sandboarding, quad biking, etc.
You will drive through the dunes on a 4WD vehicle driven by professional drivers.
Evening Desert Safari
Evening is the most popular time for desert safari. The vehicle will stop a while for you to enjoy the sunset. After that you will proceed to the campsite.
Here you have the opportunity to do camel ride, sand boarding and try out a henna design on hand or feet. You will get to enjoy a delicious barbecue dinner and shisha (the Arabic water pipe). There may also be some entertainment like Fire show, belly dance and Tanura show performance around the campfire by starlight.
Dubai Desert Safari
Morning Desert Safari
The tour may start at around 9 AM. After picking you at your hotel, you will be taken straight to the desert. On the way you will enjoy awesome dune bashing and will then head back to the camp. At the camp you may also have options to try quad biking, camel rides and sand skiing. Thereafter the car drops you at your hotel. The whole tour may take approximately 2 hours.
Overnight Desert Safari
The overnight safari is an extension of the evening desert safari and commences once the guests of the evening safari have left the campsite. You can relax at the overnight tent during the night and enjoy the starry desert experience. Tents along with mattresses, pillows and blankets will be provided. There will be washroom and shower facilities at the camp. You will be served breakfast in the morning along with tea/coffee before you head back to your hotel.
Dubai Desert Night Safari
Dubai Desert Safari Dinner in the Desert
This safari is not recommended for those with any back problems, pregnant women, and families with young children, elderly and those with any heart related problems.
You will be picked up from your hotel or place of residence and brought directly to the desert safari campsite. You can choose between camel rides, quad bikes, sand-boarding, dressing up in traditional Arabic clothing, clicking pictures with the falcon, getting a henna tattoo, smoking a bubble/shisha, or just relaxing and enjoying the desert sunset.
Live entertainment shows like the tanoura dance show, belly dance show and fire show may also be available while you are enjoying your BBQ buffet dinner.
Dubai is an international hub for entertainment. Artists from all around the globe frequent the metropolis for their concerts and shows every year. The Laughter Factory always puts up high caliber shows using the best international artists.
Stand-up comedy
The city is also fast becoming a popular hot spot for stand-up comedy as well. There are some fantastic stand-up comedy venues in Dubai where well-known, local and international stand-up comedians perform their popular routines.
Laughter Factory Comedy nights
The Laughter Factory is the Middle East’s longest-running comedy night, since 1996. In partnership with the UK’s Comedy Store, the Laughter Factory hosts a fresh bill of three different professional comedians every month, many already stars of the screen on UK TV shows. With a reputation for quality and a sharp eye for talent, The Laughter Factory has showcased reams of A-list comics on their way to superstardom. The Laughter Factory’s commitment to comedy has been recognised by numerous publications, winning several accolades over its two-decade history, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from Time Out Dubai in 2013.
The Laughter Factory
Laughter Factory locations
The Laughter Factory locations include Movenpick JBR, Zabeel House by Jumeirah, The Greens Dubai, Grand Millennium Al Barsha Dubai and Hilton Dubai in Jumeirah.
In June 2021 the Laughter Factory celebrated its 25th birthday. Because of restrictions due to Covid-19, the Laughter Factory is currently offering Zoom-based comedy shows.
Laughter Factory 25th birthday. In June 2021 the Laughter Factory celebrated its 25th birthday. Because of restrictions due to Covid-19, the Laughter Factory is currently offering Zoom-based comedy shows.
Other stand-up comedy venues in Dubai There are several stand-up comedy venues in Dubai. Some of them are:
Dubomedy
The second best stand-up comedy venues in Dubai is Dubomedy, a local comedy club known for nurturing local talent. Established over 11 years ago, Dubomedy, or Dubai + Comedy, is one of the pioneers of local stand-up comedy in Dubai.
Over the years, the club has successfully held shows like Comedy Carnival, Funny Girls, Dubomedy International Performing Arts Festival, Monday Night Funnies, Improv Revolution, Sketch@TV and Clowns Who Care Volunteer Project. The events are held at multiple locations across Dubai.
The Courtyard Playhouse
It’s the first and the only improv comedy theatre in Dubai. The Courtyard Playhouse Dubai auditorium has a seating capacity for 70 guests. Besides offering improvisational comedy shows, the centre also offers training and development for budding comedians and artists. The classes are suitable for kids, teens and adults. Online courses are also available for those interested in an entertainment career.
Dubai Opera
Dubai Opera is also a popular stand-up comedy venue. In the past, leading comedians have entertained residents across the city at the Dubai Opera.
Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi is an Emirate-themed water park located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi offering 45 rides, slides and attractions, and a diversity of seasonal events and shows.It is set in 37 acres of land, just minutes away from Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi, and CLYMB™ Abu Dhabi.
Since 2013 the water park has hosted World Flow boarding Championships. It offers special training sessions to learn to ride the waves on body boards called Yas Flow League.
Yas Waterworld is based on a theme originally developed exclusively for the park based on the narrative of The Legend of the Lost Pearl, which is inspired by Emirati culture and history . As a result the entire construction reflects traditional Emirati architecture. Its pearl is seen from outside the water park, and all the characters, attractions, shops and restaurants are also based on the story.
Yas Waterworld
Abu Dhabi Yas Waterworld attractions
The water park’s attractions are grouped into four categories: Adrenaline Rush (extreme thrill), Exciting Adventures (high thrill), Moving and Grooving, and Young Fun (low thrill). The highest rides are Jebel Drop and Hamlool’s Humps, and the fastest is Liwa Loop. The water park includes six rides that can’t be found anywhere else in the world: Bandit Bomber, Bubble’s Barrel, Cinesplash, Dawwama, Falcon’s Falaj and Slithers Slides.
Abu Dhabi Yas Waterworld Bandit Bomber
Bandit Bomber is a 550m long suspended roller coaster which includes on board water bombs and laser special effects. Every seat features laser rays which riders can use to activate water cannons and fountains, which drops massive amounts of water on two footpaths below the track, dumping water on other park visitors. However, unsuspecting visitors can retaliate with water canons near the footpaths which shoot water at the roller coaster, leading to an interactive water battle.
Abu Dhabi Yas Waterworld Bubble’s Barrel
Bubble’s Barrel features a soft, inclined sheet over which 7,000 litres of rushing water per second, creates a ferocious, 3m high wave. You can choose to ride the waves on a body board (lying down flat on your chest and holding on to the board) but more advanced swimmers prefer to stand on the board and surf. However, before you get to ride the Bubble’s Barrel, you need to learn the basics on Rush Rider, a miniature version of Bubble Barrel.
Yas Waterworld
Abu Dhabi Yas Waterworld Dawwama slide
The Dawwama is a gigantic upgrade from the regular water tube slide. This tornado slide offers the chance to 6 adventurous people to ride-board an inflated raft, which is then shot along a 20m high funnel. State-of-the-art hydro magnetic power pushes the riders uphill for a hair-raising ride.
Abu Dhabi Yas Waterworld Marah Fortress
Marah Fortress is an enormous playground equipped with six mini water slides, water cannons, 2 dumping buckets and so much more to keep your child entertained.
Abu Dhabi Yas Waterworld Amwaj Wave Pool
Amwaj Wave Pool can alternate between serene, calm waters to less gentle waves, reminiscent of the beach. The pool isn’t deep; so young children can swim freely here when the waters are calm.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is an indoor theme park in Abu Dhabi, developed at a cost of $1 billion. The park features characters from Warner Bros.’s franchises, such as Looney Tunes, DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, and others.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi Location
The park is located on Yas Island near Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and CLYMB Abu Dhabi, and is the third Warner Bros.’s theme park. The park contains 29 rides, and shows.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi : Indoor
The theme park is indoor and fully air-conditioned, as is typical of most major theme parks in the region due to the extreme heat in the summer. Standing at 1.65 million square feet, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi was named the world’s largest indoor theme park by Guinness World Records in 2019.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi : Themed Lands
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi features six themed lands; Gotham City, Metropolis, Cartoon Junction, Bedrock, Dynamite Gulch and Warner Bros. Plaza. Gotham and Metropolis which are based on the fictional settings of DC Comics super heroes Batman and Superman, respectively.
Gotham City
Warner Bros. World Gotham City
Gotham City is a themed land at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. The area is inspired by the dirty industrial city portrayed in Batman comics, and hosts attractions themed to this concept, including Batman’s Night Flight, and The Joker Funhouse. Gotham City features dark imposing warehouses, and faux crumbing amusement park rides.
Joker Funhouse
Gotham City has the most sinister of the six themed lands at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, with thrilling high-tech rides and attractions, immersive experiences, and thrilling shows inspired by DC’s comic book characters and movies. The Penguin and Scarecrow can now both be spotted in the park’s Gotham City section. Guests will be able to interact with the characters and take photographs with them. Every week, the two characters will be featured with a motley group of other DC criminal masterminds including Joker, Harley Quinn, Riddler and Catwoman, during Frightful Fridays, an event that leaves Gotham City in complete control of the bad guys.
The Scarecrow
Warner Bros. World : The Scarecrow
Known as the Master of Fear, the Scarecrow is a former psychology professor who uses hallucinatory toxins and psychological tactics to take advantage of his victims’ fears. The villain was portrayed by Cillian Murphy on screen in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
Warner Bros. World : The Penguin
The Penguin, otherwise known as Oswald Cobblepot, the self-proclaimed Gentleman of Crime sports a full tuxedo complete with a top hat and monocle. He also carries an umbrella, which is often a disguised sword or gun.
One of Batman’s most prevailing adversaries, The Penguin has been portrayed numerous times on film, most notably by Danny DeVito in the 1992 Batman Returns and by Robin Lord Taylor in the series Gotham.
Batman: Knight Flight
Warner Bros. World : Batman: Knight Flight
Batman: Knight Flight utilizes a next-generation robotic arm dark ride system (the first of its kind outside of Universal Entertainment theme parks) to take guests on a wild flight over the streets of Gotham. With stunning practical sets, effects, and animatronic figures, this state-of-the-art flight experience takes guests to new heights of immersive storytelling. Stepping into Wayne Tech, guests are soon recruited by Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, for a special mission utilizing one of his company’s new “Drone Wing” crime-fighting aircraft. Once again the Joker has escaped from Arkham Asylum and is wreaking havoc on the streets of Gotham using some sort of suspicious “control device.” It’s up to guests to help Batman capture the Clown Prince of Crime and his merry coterie of supervillains, all of whom have a few diabolical tricks up their sleeve.
Warner Bros. World : The Joker Fun house
The Joker Fun house immerses guests into a fun house of mind-bending tricks, tests, and surprises, including a hall of mirrors, a shrinking corridor, a labyrinth, and a hallucination hallway.
Warner Bros. World : The Clown Prince of Crime
The Clown Prince of Crime has requisitioned and repurposed an age-old fun house, welcoming guests to join his gang of miscreant minions. Guests are invited to join the Joker and his gang of goons, thugs, and hooligans as new henchman recruits. To join Gotham’s most feared villains, guests must explore, climb, and slide through a rogue’s gallery of silly, sideshow-inspired rooms filled with mischievous contraptions. Guests take on a series of physical and mental challenges conjured up by Batman’s nemesis in this villainous twist on the classic carnival walk through experience.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates, and it is the key place of worship for daily prayers. During Eid, it is visited by more than 41,000 people. The mosque is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE.
The Architecture of the Mosque
It was constructed between 1996 and 2007 on 12 hectares of land excluding exterior landscaping and vehicle parking. The building is aligned in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Natural materials such as marble stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics were used in the construction. The building has 1,096 amethyst-and-jasper-embedded columns, 82 white marble domes, reflective pools, gold-plated Swarovski chandeliers, an iconic prayer hall, and a courtyard featuring one of the largest marble mosaic artworks in the world. The mosque holds a Guinness World Record for the largest hand-woven carpet and also boasts one of the largest chandeliers in a mosque. It is interesting to look at the calligraphy encircling the hollows of its domes, etched with verses from the Quran and painted with gold leaf in An-Naskh lettering.
Founder of the Mosque
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding father of the UAE, had the mosque built in the capital city Abu Dhabi to create a cultural haven that would unite the cultural diversity of the Islamic world with the historical and modern values of architecture and art. In 2004, Sheikh Zayed died and was buried in the courtyard of the mosque.
The Offices
Administrative offices offices are located in the west minarets. These offices also conduct educational cultural activities and visitor programs. In the northeast minaret is the library with classic books and publications addressing a range of Islamic subjects: sciences, civilisation, calligraphy, the arts, and coins, including some rare publications. The collection comprises material in a broad range of languages, including Arabic, English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Korean.
Daily Prayer
The mosque can accommodate over 40,000 worshipers, while the main prayer hall can hold over 7,000. There are two smaller prayer halls, with a capacity of 1,500 each, one of which is reserved for women’s prayer. The four minarets on the four corners of the courtyard rise about 107 m in height.
Best time to visit the Mosque .
At about dusk is the best time to visit the mosque because the fading sunlight bounces off the white facade to create a beautiful glow, and after the sunset, you can witness the majesty of the building as it becomes illuminated by lights. Nevertheless you will enjoy the visit regardless of what time you arrive. Free guided tours, in Arabic and English, are the best way to get the most from your visit. Dress code requires that shoulders and knees must be covered and shoes must be removed at the entry gate. Women are also asked to wear abayas which are provided free of charge.
This is the main museum in Dubai. It is located in the Al Fahidi Fort. It was built in 1787 and is the oldest existing building in Dubai. The museum was opened in 1971 by the Ruler of Dubai. Dubai Museum depicts the traditional way of life in the Emirate of Dubai. It houses local antiques as well as artifacts from African and Asian countries that traded historically with Dubai. It also has recent archeological discoveries that could be as old as 3000 BC. There are also several dioramas which shows the life in Dubai before oil was discovered.
Dubai Museum
The total area of the museum is 4,000 square meters. The Museum received over 1 million visitors in 2013. There is a model of a mosque, house and family in the museum. There are also depictions of desert life with a date farm, a camel, wild animals, and a Bedouin tent filled with jewellery, trinkets and objects from the daily life of Bedouins. Bedouins are Arabic-speaking nomadic peoples of the Middle Eastern deserts. Galleries recreate scenes from the Creek, traditional Arab houses, mosques, the souk, date farms and desert and marine life.
Realistic sounds and life-size videos guide the visitor to the museum. You can expect to spend one to two hours in the museum.
Inside Dubai Museum
Al Fahidi Fort
Al Fahidi Fort, the earliest building of UAE, was built of coral rock and mortar in several phases. The fort was built for political and residential use. By 1971, after 184 years of use the fort was in battered condition. Sheikh Rasheed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum renovated the fort and converted it into a museum for visitors. In 1995, another underground museum was built and added to the old fort.
The Al Fahidi Fort Gallery
The Al Fahidi Fort Gallery descending down a spiral staircase in the south-western tower of the citadel contains artifacts dating back up to 1960 before oil was discovered. Other wings of the museum feature various relics of trade and commerce in ancient Dubai and video footage telecast at the background together give you a feeling of being on a real souq (market) in ancient Dubai. After the souq, you will find a model mosque and a desert bearing the testimony of the harsh life of the Bedouins.
Al Fahidi Fort Dioramas
The largest wing of the museum dedicated to the seafarers showcases their importance in the social structure of Dubai. The technique of making a dhow is shown here. The seafarer diorama is a must-watch in the Dubai Museum.
The largest diorama of the museum is the Al Qusais Archaeological Site which reflects various stages of Dubai’s archaeological history. The relics from Jumeirah, Al Quasis and other sites date as early as back to 2000-1000 B.C. reflecting the glorious past of the Arab world. There is also a gift shop where you can find gift items and other souvenirs at surprisingly affordable prices.
Transport to Dubai Museum Al Fahidi Fort
You can take public buses to Dubai Museum through the Ghubaiba or Fahidi bus stations nearby or take a metro from the Ghubaiba or Fahidi stations located nearby. Rented cars or tours operators also provide transportation services.
