Dubai Festival City Mall is hosting a Ramadan-themed show at Imagine
Dubai Festival City Mall is hosting a Ramadan-themed show at Imagine
Dubai Festival City Mall is hosting a Ramadan-themed show at Imagine
Dubai Festival City Mall is hosting a Ramadan-themed show at Imagine

Ramadan 2023: Extended timings for Dubai malls and leisure destinations


Panna Munyal
  • English
  • Arabic

In addition to a plethora of evening events, markets and pop-ups, many malls in Dubai have announced they have extended their operating hours during Ramadan.

Here are 12 shopping hubs, plus five other retail, dining and entertainment destinations you can visit until the early hours.

Malls

The Dubai Mall

During the holy month, shops will be open from 10am to midnight from Monday to Thursday, and from 10am to 1am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Restaurants and cafes will serve diners from 10am to 2am every day.

Dubai Festival City Mall

Shops will be open from 10am to midnight from Sunday to Wednesday, and from 10am to 1am from Thursday to Saturday.

If you visit, watch a Ramadan-themed water and light performance as part of Imagine, a water projection screen synched to 30 fountains in Festival Bay.

Mall of the Emirates

Shops will be open from 10am to 1am, with some retailers operating until 2am.

If you visit, have a stroll through Zeman Awwal, a dedicated cultural space that celebrates local heritage and gives Emirati artists the chance to present their works and the Ramadaniyat Market next to Ski Dubai.

City Centre Mirdif and City Centre Deira

The mall will be open from 10am to 1am every day, with some retailers operating until 2am.

The Mirdif mall will also host a Sweet Corner from 4pm to midnight until April 24, offering six creative desserts tailored for iftar and suhoor gatherings.

Souk Al Marfa

Ramadan market at Souk Al Marfa
Ramadan market at Souk Al Marfa

The shopping centre will be open from noon to midnight from Sunday to Thursday; from 2pm to 2am on Friday; and from noon to 2am on Saturday.

If you visit, check out the waterfront Ramadan Night Market, which offers food and fashion kiosks, plus children's activities, from 8pm to 2am until April 25.

Dragon Mart

The shopping centre will be open from 10am to 11pm from Monday to Thursday, and from 10am to midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Ibn Battuta Mall

Shops and restaurants will be open from 10am to 10pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

The Carrefour will be open from 9am to midnight every day.

The Outlet Village

Until April 14, shops will be open from 10am to 10pm from Monday to Thursday, and from 10am to 11pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From 15 April, all shops will be open for an hour longer, until 11pm on weekdays and until midnight from Friday to Sunday.

Circle Mall

Shops will be open from 10am to 10pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Restaurants will serve diners until midnight every day, while the in-house salon will operate from 10am to 10pm from Sunday to Thursday and until 11pm on Friday and Saturday.

Spinneys will operate from 7am to midnight every day, while Nesto will be open from 9am to 1am every day.

Dubai Hills Mall

Shops will be open from 10am to midnight every day, while restaurants will serve diners from 10am to 1am every day.

City Walk

Shops will be open from 10am to midnight, while kiosks and restaurants will operate until 1am.

Dubai Outlet Mall

Shops will be open from 10am to midnight, and the mall also has a Ramadan market on its premises until April 24.

Leisure destinations

The Beach, JBR

Shops will be open from 10am to 11pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am to midnight on Friday and Saturday

Restaurants and cafes will serve diners from 10am to midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am to 1am on Friday and Saturday.

La Mer

Shops will be open from 10am to 11pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Restaurants and cafes will serve diners from 10am to midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am to 1am on Friday and Saturday.

Bluewaters Island

Shops will be open from 10am to 11pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am to midnight on Friday and Saturday

Most F&B outlets will be open from 10am to midnight every day, while fine dining restaurants such as London Project, Shi and Alici will operate until 3am every day.

Al Seef and Al Khawaneej Walk

All shops and restaurants will be open from 10am to midnight on weekdays and from 10am to 1am on weekends.

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Your rights as an employee

The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.

The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.

If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.

Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.

The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.

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The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.

A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.

The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.

When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The bio:

Favourite film:

Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Favourite holiday destination:

Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.

Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.

Favourite pastime:

Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.

Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.

Personal motto:

Declan: Take chances.

Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.

 

Updated: April 06, 2023, 11:39 AM