Malls - Freitag, Januar 16, 2009 20:23 - 0 Comments

The retail has landed

Dubai Duty Free is one of the most sophisticated sales hubs on the planet – the neighbourhood mall for a sped-up, miniaturised world. Kristoffer A Garin reports.

The shopping area, more than a kilometre long, is recessed into the centre of a main concourse from which 43 gates branch out. From either side of the arrivals walkway you can look down through a thick and immaculate glass plate onto the layered travellers of the world – and below, the shoppers among them.

It is a stunningly international mix, one that for sheer variety has New York or London easily beat: dark women in golden saris, young Europeans in fashionably ripped jeans, families sleeping on the floor. Skin and hair in hues from bleach to black. A Tibetan monk walks past. No one looks out of place here, and you get the feeling that no one could. This scene, and all the while the call to prayer echoing overhead from the public address system. Near the arched ceiling, a series of arabesque trompe l’oeil windows looks out at painted desert nights, complete with twinkling stars above the imaginary dunes. Toward the centre of the concourse stands a grove of artificial date palms, easily 10 metres tall. Continue…