DUBAI - Mall& Burj Khalifa

The Dubai Mall in the Downtown Dubai district is just a few metro stations away from my hotel and can be reached via an 800m long walkway, a connection from the metro to the mall. This metro link is equipped with escalators throughout and of course fully air-conditioned, like everything in Dubai. So after a while in the mall, it almost got cold because I had dressed for 40°C outside :)

The mall feels just as big as the town I come from. You get lost there regularly, because it's not just 'a shopping center', but the largest shopping center in the WORLD (350,000 square meters of sales area). But of course, there are not only shops here, but also an ice rink, a cinema with over 20 screens, a 24m high waterfall, the largest gold souk (market) in the world, and a music-controlled fountain! You can also find the entrances to the 11-meter high Dubai Aquarium (with over 30,000 animals) and the Burj Khalifa. Maybe you can understand why I spent almost half a day in the Dubai Mall? :)

If you leave the mall at the right exit, you can enjoy a great view of part of the skyline and you are immediately in front of the Burj Khalifa, which is difficult to photograph in its entirety because of its enormous height. In front of the mall's exit, there is a large water pool with a fountain system that gives a music concert with matching movements of the fountains several times an hour from around 6 p.m. Especially when it starts to get dark, the atmosphere there is beautiful because all the people become very quiet and you only hear classical music from the large speakers on all sides.

The Burj Khalifa almost in half :)

Skyline still during daylight

Skyline in the evening

On the second day, I was able to admire Dubai from the top, very, very top. I had already booked my ticket online in Germany, which caused some minor difficulties, but in the end everything worked out! The tallest building in the world was started in 2004, completed in 2010, and used as a hotel, residential, and office building. It is about 830m to the top and the highest floor that can be reached by elevator is about 640m! My very short ride in the elevator to the 124th floor was accompanied by music, videos, and lights. Upstairs, there was a 360° platform to admire the city from every angle.

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