Dubai Mall

Currently the world's largest shopping mall based on the total area is located in Dubai, UAE. It is part of the prestigious Downtown Burj Dubai complex, the 20-billion-dollar project is the medium in total area with 1,200 shops is considered as the largest shopping and entertainment destination in the world. The mall opened in November 4, 2008. It surpasses the previously largest mall in the Middle East City Stars, which is located in Cairo, Egypt. The Dubai Mall has hosted over 3 million visitors over the month of April 2009, while the mall attracts more than 750,000 visitors every week. Here are some of the main attractions in the mall.

This is the Waterfall, a beautiful indoor waterfall that cascades over the four levels of the mall.

The Interior of the mall.

At 12 million square feet the mall is equivalent in size to 200 soccer pitches and will feature more than 1,200 specialty stores in distinct retail category precincts. For the fashion-minded, The Dubai Mall pays homage to haute couture with more than 70 signature stores in Fashion Avenue alone, covering an area of 440,000 sq ft. Galeries Lafayette, France’s leading lifestyle retailer and Bloomingdale’s, America’s leading department store are the key anchors.

The Gold Souk is a dazzling precinct showcasing a collection of over 200 of the region’s most trusted gold and jewellery retailers. The Gold Souk is designed to reflect the rich Arabic heritage blended with the modern features of The Dubai Mall.

Highlighting the Gold Souk is the treasury atrium with a 24.2m x 12.6m dome, a dynamic projection ceiling featuring ever-changing design and images. Gold and jewellery can be readily purchased or tailor-crafted to meet a customer’s every need.

A key centerpiece is Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, which is one of the largest tanks in the world at 51m x 20m x 11m and features the world’s largest acrylic viewing panel at 32.8m wide x 8.3m high. With the capacity to hold 10 million litres of water, Dubai Aquarium illuminates the marvels of the ocean floor and showcases one of the most diverse collections of marine animals worldwide. Dubai quarium's 270-degree acrylic walkthrough tunnel makes for incredible close-encounter experiences with some of the most fascinating underwater animals on the planet.

This is the exterior of the mall where one of the world's tallest fountain is showcased.

The Dubai fountain, designed by Alex Salamoun, can spray 22,000 gallons (83,000 liters) of water in the air at any moment. More than 6,600 Lights and 25 colour projectors have been installed.

Year 2012

There has been some speculations about the year 2012. Some are saying, it's gonna be the end of the world, while others think there will  be a tragic event that will lead to mass death. But what is it really about? Who started all these? Well, here are some facts that I would like to share with you.

Who started it?

Zecharia Sitchin, a self-proclaimed ancient languages scholar  and an author of books promoting an explanation for human origins, wrote a book entitled "The 12th Planet". He theorized that there is an extra planet which was called Nibiru. He claims that Nibiru passes through our solar system every 3600 years. The followers of Sitchin’s ideas also refer to Nibiru as “Planet X”, the name given to a planet that is allegedly located within our solar system but beyond Pluto. Adherents to the “returning Planet X hypothesis” believe the return of this wandering planet will bring cataclysmic consequences to earth which they say will happen on December 21, 2012.

However, Sitchin's speculations are entirely discounted by professional scientists, historians, and archaeologists, who note many problems with his translations of ancient texts and with his understanding of physics.
 

How did it all started?

The announcement, on July 30th 2005, that a new celestial body has been discovered made media news around the world and the reports written in the headline --“Astronomers Claim Discovery of 10th Planet.The announcement by a Caltech astronomer, Michael Brown, said that he and two colleagues, scanning the heavens in 2003, found a celestial body (designated 2003-UB-313) that they now realize might be larger than Pluto (the ninth planet) and thus qualify as the 10th planet in our solar system. Lacking many vital data except that it orbits the Sun at a very steep angle to the ecliptic (the orbital plane of Earth and other planets) and is now about 9 billion miles from us, the discovery’s announcement was explained as prompted by concern that a computer hacker, a “rogue astronomer”, or a team of Spanish astronomers claiming to have found such a body (that they designated 2003-EL-61) would pre-empt the Brown team.

So where are we heading?

Well, we have heard a lot about doomsday. If you may recall, the same thing was said about Y2K, and yet, we still exist. Why would we worry about things that are beyond our control? Why don't we focus on things that are in our hands --like making sure that we live a life pleasing to our God so we're assured that even it happens, we will end up in good hands. :-)

Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on Oprah

Following an outpouring of audience response from his guesting on Monday, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson returns to the Oprah show on Friday, October 16. Appearing live, Tyson will take questions from the studio audience and speak about the overwhelming reaction he’s had from his first interview. Plus, more than ten years after their controversial bout, Tyson will reunite with Evander Holyfield on the Oprah show stage. Their appearance together on the Oprah stage this Friday will mark the first time Tyson and Holyfield have spoken face-to-face since their infamous 1997 incident.

Many can still recall that at the third round during Mike Tyson's fight against Evander Holyfield, he bit Holyfield twice, once in each ear. He wasn then disqualified and condemned by the media.

Their appearance in Oprah Winfrey show will surely be looking forward by many.