Attractions in Dubai

The Mall of Emirates, as should be obvious, is a shopping mall in the city of Dubai, located in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. The current owner of this mall is Majid Al Futtaim of MAF Holding.

The Mall of Emirates is one of the biggest shopping malls in the world outside North America. (It is rumored that the upcoming Dubai Mall intends to shatter this record).

Being a mall it has the usual mall features including a fourteen-screen multiplex, a gaming arena, that long list of stores selling every possible thing that you can imagine.

However, the biggest reason for its popularity does not rest in its size, or in the facilities it offers, but for the very unique presence of the Middle East's first indoor ski slope, Ski Dubai, inside the shopping mall. The Ski Dubai has a skiing area that is third larges in the world and this helps to differentiate the Mall of Emirates from the avalanche of malls that has descended on Dubai since the tourism business really caught on there.

The mall is located in the Al Barsha area in Dubai and was opened to the public in November 2005.
Ski Dubai has five runs of varying difficulty, height, and steepness. The longest run is 400 meters with a fall of 60 meters. There are gentler slopes for beginners and indoor black runs for more experienced skiers. Skiers and snowboarders are equally likely to enjoy Ski Dubai with snowboarders getting to perform their stunts on a 90 meter long quarter pipe.

Ski Dubai also features the interactive Snow Park spread over 3,000 square meters making it the biggest indoor snow park in the world. Ski equipment and clothing is available for hire inside Ski Dubai. You can go up in the quad-chairlift with your equipment and come down on the skis or snowboard.

There are also many themed restaurants like the St. Moritz Café located at the very entrance to Ski Dubai and the Avalanche Café at mid-station with views of the artificial slope. Shoppers can spend time at the Snow Pro that has all the advise and equipment that you might need along with professional instructors to give you your first lesson in skiing or snowboarding.

The Ski Dubai is 22,500 square meters in size and covered with real snow throughout the year. The temperature is kept between -1 and -2 degrees Celsius. The slope itself is 35 meters high and 80 meters wide. The entire place can accommodate 1,500 visitors at any given time.