Al Faisaliah Mall: “Shopping in Riyadh”

February 23, 2012 Butterfly Jewel
Tags: Al Faisaliah, Harvey Nichols, KSA, Nike, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, shopping, Shopping mall, tourist site

When I lived in Riyadh, which is the capital city of Saudi Arabia, whenever I just felt the need to get out and perhaps conjure a sense of freedom without having to be chauffeured by a man, I would occasionally take a walk to Al Faisaliah Mall which was one of Riyadh’s must-see venues. I remember when I was in Al Jouf, many of my students there dreamed of having their own Faisaliah in Jouf one day in the future, as Jouf was a smaller rural city in Saudi Arabia with very few shopping choices and nothing at all which could even compare to the size of Al Faisaliah.

In Riyadh, there are many malls, shopping centers, department stores, souqs and more places where you can shop until you drop as your heart so desires. As a foreigner living in Riyadh, most residents and expats will undoubtedly mention Al Faisaliah to you when you are trying to figure out what there is to do in the city. Al Faisaliah boasts of having 3 floors of shopping with many name brand stores like Gap, Nike and Harvey Nichols. I even think I saw a Paris Hilton store once. Perhaps, one of its main tourist attractions is the restaurant which is located inside of the giant ball near the top of the building which requires advanced reservation to dine or a fee just to enter to see the stunning panorama view of the city from above. In addition to all these, there are also apartments, office spaces, a branch of an educational facility, a swimming pool, an inside kid’s park and much more.