It takes you to the past

Tag : Short Gowns

>IT'S an underground network of shops. Built by bare hands and afew tools.

It's dimly lit and stretches a 15,240 sq m space under the ShaikhRashid Road of Dubai. No, it's not a black market selling illegalwares. It's perfectly legal, regal in fact.

Welcome to Dubai's new themed mall. It's an underground shoppingmall themed after the legendary Khan Murjan souq in Baghdad of the1300s. And it's a close copy of the ancient Arabian market.

Here's another copy. Last month, the mall was opened by the Queenof Syria - actually an actress playing her role - in Wafi City lastmonth, reported Dubai's Xpress.

Though the Dubai version of the original Khan Murjan is dimly lit -it is two floors underneath Wafi Mall - and air conditioned, itfollows the traditional styles of Egypt, Turkey, Morocco and Syria.

The modern Khan Murjan features hand-made decoration like marblefloors and walls studded with colorful tiles and stone carvings.Arabic perfume fills the cool corridors, while shopkeepers gestureto visitors to have a look inside.

With traditional tools, craftsmen from many Arab countries workedfor months on the souq's interiors and architecture, especially thestained-glass ceiling. The mainly blue mosaic throws down a softlight on tourists below. The stylish interior was built piecemeal,with individual parts flown in and assembled.

Like the finishing, many of the goods at Khan Murjan are handmade -furniture made in Yemen, natural soap from Lebanon or gowns fromSaudi Arabia, for example.
At least 70 stores have opened up already, with 80 others in thepipeline. All alleys lead to a central courtyard. A white canvasroof lets in natural light after filtering out the Sun's heat. Itis folded up later in the day - when its cooler - turning thecourtyard into an open-air food and coffee feast.

"Dubai has everything - the tallest, biggest and all thesethings. But come here and you can enjoy the exotic themes andauthenticity. You won't find any Starbucks here," said Mr DeepBader, General Manager of Khan Murjan.

There is, however, a Starbucks upstairs, at Wafi Mall. The originalKhan Murjan was an inn for visiting merchants in Baghdad. It had a45-feet-high central hall and gardens. Though damaged, it survivedwars and floods for centuries.

The old souq was turned into a restaurant for a short while duringthe 1980s.
This article was first published in The New Paper on July 20, 2008.