A travel enthusiast was left gobsmacked after discovering a ‘mini Venice‘ inside a shopping centre thousands of miles away from Italy.
Sabrina Samoria, a Leeds-based travel creator who dubs herself the ‘Queen of Holidays’ on TikTok, shared a video this week from her recent trip to Qatar.
In the clip, she explores a shopping centre that strikingly resembles the Italian city of Venice – 2,500 miles away – renowned for its picturesque waterways and boats.
“You can even take a ride on a gondola here. The indoor canal is a distinctive feature and runs through the centre of the shopping mall,” Sabrina comments as she wanders around it. Despite visiting at night, the footage she shared displays bright blue skies courtesy of a large, artificial sky installation.
She elaborates: “How cool is this? Right now it’s pitch black outside but if you look up there you’ll see this beautifully painted ceiling which honestly feels real.”
The shopping centre in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, boasts even more Venice-inspired features, including a theme park named ‘Gondolania’ – equipped with a ferris wheel and roller coaster. “It’s absolutely crazy,” grins Sabrina, adding: “The mall is like a large indoor air-conditioned attraction.”
Elsewhere, there is a 7D cinema, a lazy river and a “cute” arcade packed with computer games. There’s even an Olympic-sized skating rink and, of course, plenty of shops, from Zara to Lacoste and Marks and Spencer – the latter something Sabrina “definitely wasn’t expecting” to find 3,400 miles away from the UK.
“So where can you find this beautiful piece of Italy?” Sabrina asks. “This is Villagio Mall, which is located in the Aspire zone in the west end of Doha.”
One user, clearly taken by the country, replied: “I can’t stop thinking of Qatar since I visited.”
Yet, not everyone was enamoured with the Venetian-inspired shopping centre. One user criticised its lack of originality, saying: “Not Venice, I’d say they tryna replicate/copy land of legends.. nothing original at all.” Meanwhile, another was left curious about the technological marvels within, musing: “What is a 7D cinema?”
According to Movie Power, 7D stimulates a viewer’s multiple senses by, “integrating motion control systems for seats” and synchronising with, “7D guns, on-screen events, as well as various environmental effects such as wind, water sprays, and scents”.