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Al A’ali Shopping Complex
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The first of a kind to open its doors to the shoppers of Bahrain in November 1996, Al A’ali Shopping Complex offers chic, sophisticated shopping for people with style. The centrepiece is a domed courtyard with superb natural lighting where suq-style market stalls offer a variety of locally produced goods from pickles to perfumes. Corridors lead off, like the spokes in a wheel, to a total of 120, high quality, interesting stores.
In addition to its international areas, the mall has created two ‘suqs’. Tawaweesh resembles an old Bahraini street with its wooden carved windows and balconies. It is home to the Al Bindaira Café where you can select from a delicious snack style menu and sample a real local tradition, the shisha or ‘hubble-bubble’ pipe. Opposite, Bateel Dates offers exquisite, regionally-grown dates enhanced with nut or fruit fillings, yummy date jam and handmade chocolates for sweet-toothed customers. Sarraya, the other suq, only adds to the atmosphere.
The mall’s food court has a distinctly ethnic flavour, and the children’s play area, Mariam’s Village, is close by. Also located in the mall are the Official Grand Prix Merchandise store and the offices of British Airways and Emirates Airlines. Department store Jashanmal’s offers a superb selection including books, cosmetics, diningware and other household goods. A major coup is the imminent arrival of The One, a market leader in home furnishings and accessories. The two-level store is set to revolutionise the home furnishings sector in Bahrain with its inventive design concepts.
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Seef Mall
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Right next-door, Seef Mall is the place to shop until you drop. It boasts 225 retail stores of various international brands, covering 21 categories of shopping from designer jewellery and clothing to value for money fashion and accessories. Add to that 40 restaurants, cafés and food stalls and you can see you are really spoiled for choice. Seef Mall has something for everyone – from the dedicated shopper to those who just want to relax and enjoy a coffee.
The gap between consumer groups has been well and truly bridged with a clever combination of high end and affordable but quality stores. The anchor stores are Marks and Spencers, Debenhams, BhS, Zaina and Toys R Us. Also key in attracting customers are fashion stores Mango and Zara, perfumers Al Hawaj, and the two Seef Cineplexes, with 16 screens in total, offering a wide range of movies to suit all tastes.
The mall is home to an enormously popular and well-equipped children’s play area, Magic Island, where children of all ages will find entertainment to suit. The huge soft play structure towers over the other attractions and children can lose themselves in sheer enjoyment amongst its labyrinth of passages. Take on the GT Virtual Challenge, a virtual motor racing experience next time you visit to get a taste of the thriving motor racing spirit in Bahrain.
The mall’s design ensures that, in spite of its size, you are never too far away from refreshment as its two food courts are located at opposite ends of the mall and cafés and restaurants are interspersed en route. Look out for a new wing, to be built soon, which will feature stores not yet represented on the island.
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Bahrain Mall
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The profile of Bahrain Mall is unmistakable, designed in the form of a traditional, Arabic fortress. The interior is equally dramatic – no matter which entrance you use, your first impression is a symphony of water and fire, with soothing waterfalls and constantly burning torches atop magnificent columns. A tented ceiling and palm trees complete the symbolic oasis.
It is a family mall, catering for all ages and requirements offering food, clothing, hobbies and entertainment. Geant, the French anchor store, is a huge hypermarket selling everything a household could ever need from DVD players to denims to dairy products with value for money as a key concept running throughout the store and indeed the mall. There are over 100 retail outlets and 30 kiosks and stalls offering perfumes, gift items, sweets and food… not forgetting the 17-outlet food court which has a traditional Arabic style café.
Foton World, the children’s play area, is equipped with a mini rollercoaster and other kid-friendly activities. Watch out if you visit during a school outing or party only because the enthusiasm of the kids will bowl you over. The post office counter on the ground floor offers shoppers the convenience of mailing postcards and letters.
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Dana Mall
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A stone’s throw away, Dana Mall, the newest of the big malls, has an elegant exterior made from Jordanian stone which blends in perfectly with the desert landscape. The interior is a combination of exquisite stained glass ceilings and high domes.
Dana offers a diverse shopping experience evidenced by the wide variety of fashion and other retail outlets – 75 are already open and new ones are launching almost every week with a potential total of 135 stores.
Giant hypermarket is the anchor store where, aside from the vast selection of household, clothing and grocery items, you can visit the dried goods section and select from fresh regional dates, sweet Arabic pastries, herbs, spices, dried fruits and nuts. The mall offers many services including car hire, shoe repairs, key cutting, optical, photograph developing, and hairdressing among others.
The main evening attraction is the 12-screen, state of the art, cinema complex, where you can take in a movie after dining at the mall’s 20-outlet food court or one of its nine other casual dining outlets and cafés. Chakazoolu, the children’s playground, has something for all ages including a hot air balloon ride, a jungle train ride and, for the fearless, the only indoor high-speed rollercoaster in the Gulf. In the Chakabarber, kids can have a haircut and, to top it all off, enjoy face painting followed by a photograph at the Chakazoolu store.
Phase Two of the project includes construction of a 40-storey, twin tower, comprising a deluxe hotel and residence.
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Rug Shopping in Adliya
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To round off a perfect day’s shopping, head for the suburb of Adliya, in particular Osama Bin Zaid Avenue, where you can stroll along the pavement soaking in the sights of rugs from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey. Venture into any of the shops and they will gladly unveil mountains of rugs with a dazzling variety of patterns and colours.
You will find out about the origin of the rugs, whether they are made of silk, wool or a combination of both, hear tales about the people who make them, discover the meaning of the different designs and be informed of the number of knots per square centimetre, a good indicator of quality.
You will find it hard to resist as the selection of rugs is unlikely to be surpassed elsewhere. Of course, bartering, usually over refreshments, is a must. As a reward for your exertions, Adliya’s fine selection of cafés and restaurants beckons, a relaxing way to end your first day of shopping.
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Marina Mall
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Day two promises to be equally exciting and a great place to kick-off is the Marina Mall, where they offer affordable, good value shopping under the Mothercare Group umbrella whose stores comprise Shoe Mart, Sarah’s Secret (shhh…lingerie!), Studio 1 (young and trendy), Home Centre, Lifestyle (everything a woman could want) and Bossini clothing. Several stores have recently undergone extensive refurbishment.
It’s a real ‘one stop’ shopping mall where you can find everything from newborn and toddler clothing, toys, nursery products, home furnishings, gift ideas, trendy teens and adult clothing and footwear, lingerie and more. Independent stores are also represented such as Ninewest and G2000, making a total of 15 stores. Hungry shoppers are more than well served with outlets like Costas Coffee, Ocean Café and the Jungle Food Court with six food retailers who also offer a fantastic weekend lunch buffet.
The kids will have great fun at the Magic Island play zone.
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Bahrain Commercial Complex
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This jewel in the centre of the city, adjacent to the Sheraton Hotel (guests can walk in from the rear entrance), is a well-established, spacious, elite shopping centre. It is a magnet for discerning shoppers from Bahrain and beyond.
Designer stores include the newly opened Escada and world famous jewellers, Tiffany’s. Local based jewellers include the Jewel House and Asia, both producing eye-catching, dazzling pieces for the top end of the market. Exclusive household adornments, antiques, fine locals arts and crafts, well-known perfumes (local and international) are represented. In total, there are 120 well-appointed stores and several food outlets.
Look out for the model of the new Bahrain World Trade Centre, now under construction next to the existing centre. This 50-storey high tower, also containing an extension to the existing shopping mall, will offer more quality shopping and fine dining outlets. The Sheraton Hotel will also undergo an extensive facelift to provide catering and conference facilities along with leisure and fine dining amenities and will form an integral part of this new development. Keep your eyes peeled!
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Manama Suq
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Finally, it’s time for the most traditional of shopping experiences, the Manama Suq. Evening is probably the best time to visit as the atmosphere is somehow more romantic and it is so much cooler (remember, the suq shuts down during the afternoon hours when the sun is at its fiercest).
You can wander for hours along narrow streets, ducking into small alleyways where you come across yet more interesting stalls selling everything from fresh spices to exquisite Bahraini pearls (unlike the cultured pearls available elsewhere, these are natural gems and still regarded as the finest in the world).
It’s not simply shopping, but an enriching cultural and social experience. Don’t forget to bargain for those special souvenirs. You will be drawn into interesting conversations, asked to sit down to partake of a cool, refreshing drink or perhaps sip a cup of coffee accompanied by sweet dates.
There are two main gold shopping centres as well as many, individual, attractive street-front gold jewellers. The Gold Suq, located on Shaikh Abdulla Avenue, is a two-storey, custom-built complex with a host of jewellers, many of them local. Prepare to be dazzled as 22-carat gold, normally used in Middle Eastern jewellery, has a sparkle that the seven or 10-carat offerings in the West simply cannot match. Gold City, located between Al Khalifa and Government Avenues, is another suq within the suq, offering a dazzling array of jewellery – again with a strong, Middle Eastern flavour.
There are more mundane items on sale as the suq is very much a local market, where day-to-day purchases are still made. And you can bet that the latest gimmicks will be on show, whether it be the latest kid’s toy or a winning team’s football strip. You can even kit yourself out with a full Arabic costume (men, ladies and children). No offence will be taken and what a great souvenir to take home for all those fancy dress parties.
As you meander along, the traders, each vying for your attention, will gently summon you but there is no hard sell, if you say no, it is accepted gracefully. When you do decide to take a closer look at their wares, be prepared – bartering is de rigueur. You have to try it for yourself but remember, the only rule is that the first price will definitely not be the last.
Major improvements are in store to enhance the suq while retaining its traditional atmosphere including the creation of ‘mini suqs’ such as an Indian bazaar and a renovated gold suq. Improved parking, provision of shade and air-conditioned rest areas will all make suq shopping more convenient and comfortable.
After all that activity, your taxi eagerly awaits you at the rank, conveniently located at Bab Al Bahrain, to whisk you back home.
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