Visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai’s futuristic Alif – the Mobility Pavilion will be dwarfed by nine-meter-tall photo-realistic figures from Arab civilization’s Golden Age.
Ancient navigator Ahmad Ibn Majid and famed adventurer Ibn Battuta are on display.
In his lifetime, Ahmad Ibn Majid, a brilliant Muslim navigator born in the 15th century in Julfar (modern-day Ras Al Khaimah) and nicknamed “the Lion of the Sea,” published many works on marine science and ship movement, when Arab sailors were considered among the best in the world.
Ibn Battuta was a notable early Muslim Moroccan adventurer who authored a book on his exploits called ‘The Rila’ (‘The Travels’) in the 14th century.
This well-known text chronicles his travels, which spanned 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) and took him to several Muslim countries, as well as China and Sumatra (now part of Indonesia).
The Mobility Pavilion pays homage to these colossal Arab figures through meticulously created tableaux that tell the history of the advancements that have aided global mobility over the years.
Visitors can learn about the concept of mobility, its power, and its far-reaching effect, as well as the region’s role in expanding human exploration, by revealing the stories of these historical Arab giants.
The Mobility Pavilion, where visitors are led on a journey across time and space to learn how people, innovation, technology, and data are interacting in increasingly complex ways, is slated to be one of Alif’s mega-attractions.