A shopping mall or just a mall is North American term for a shopping center. A shopping center is more like an open or sometimes closed large place with many stores and some restaurants or fast food. I personally prefer the world mall as it is more accurate to what some shopping centers have evolved today. A mall is not only a place where you go for shopping but just to walk, enjoy, dine, visit a cinema, do sport or even find offices or banks branches. I lived three years in Dubai where the malls became a daily lifestyle. Places where you can spend all your day without the need of going out. The high temperatures during the summer helped a lot for that. Imagine when it is 45 ̊C (113 ̊F) the life outside is impossible. The malls evolved into centers of life.

We lived in a lovely district full of green areas, several swimming pools, playgrounds and so on. Such a mall was situated at a walking distance from building. A real mall, not only for shopping but living. It had a hotel and residential areas adjacent to it. In this mall, I had my dry-cleaning and barber. A lot of dining restaurants and fast food courts. My younger son’s nursery was in that mall as well. There was a music school where my elder son had his piano classes. You can find inside also a fitness center as well as several banks, a big supermarket, playgrounds, and a hospital. We were just going there for anything we may need. All this was in one building, very well air-conditioned, so you can escape from the heat and spend your day having everything you may need around. It covered an area of 1.2 million square feet (111 000 sq. meters). That is what I call a modern mall and in what the shopping centers or the markets have evolved. There are many malls like that in Dubai. You have even an actual ski slope in one of them, covered with a real snow and operating the all year. Recently the American Dream Miami was announced in The US. A huge mall that will cover more than 4 million square feet (370 000 sq. meters), and bigger than Mall of America, accommodating the biggest indoor ski dome and a huge water park.

And here comes my question - which was the first real mall in the world, accommodating shopping centers, dining, entertaining, playgrounds and everything else under one roof? Was it in The UK where the shopping centers emerged, or it is The US where the modern word mall comes from or is it Asia with its largest malls in the world? I don’t mean just shopping centers like The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, built the 15th century, but it is just a shopping center or marketplace. I mean a real mall like the malls in Dubai, Singapore or the USA that have everything from shopping, dining, and entertaining to healthcare and relaxation under one roof.

I was struck by this “mall” idea when I was in Rome and decided to visit a site not far from our accommodation – the Caracalla baths. The previous day we visited the Coliseum, and it was really crowded with tourists. It was the first Sunday of the month, and all sites and museums were free, so we decided to visit something close and less popular in order to avoid the crowds. The Caracalla baths were 30 minutes walking and almost empty, with barely several visitors. I was expecting to see ancient Roman baths as they were very popular and spread everywhere. I was shocked when I saw the huge building (actually ruins). It is just too enormous for a bath. I thought we were mistaken, and this was some kind of ancient palace or something. My wife, which is an expert in ancient history, smiled and explained to me that it was not only a bath but a complex resembling today’s malls. An ancient mall. The building was huge. It spreads over 1.3 million square feet (120 000 square meters). Did you get that? It is bigger than “our” mall in Dubai.

So why do I call Caracalla baths a true mall of the ancient world and not just baths? It definitely had baths inside. There were: a large Olympic size swimming pool (55/25 meters or 183x79 ft) which was the cold area, a smaller double pool with medium and hot water and 35 meters (115 ft) diameter. But the Baths of Caracalla were more than a mere bathing house. They were, in fact, a multifunctional leisure and spa center that also housed gymnasiums, libraries, gardens, art galleries, entertainment areas with games, restaurants and even brothels. The entire north wall of the complex was devoted to a shopping area situated on at least two floors with many stores. The Caracalla complex was known for its rich interior that featured marble seats, mosaic covered walls, and floors as well as fountains and statues. But don’t be mistaken. The baths were freely open to the public, and anyone could go there. Does this sound familiar to you now? The modern malls: luxury, marble, shiny, entertainment, shopping? So we have everything needed under one roof and opened to the public. Isn’t it a mall? A mall, bigger than many of today’s fashionable malls. This Roman mall was built and opened in 217 AD by Emperor Caracalla, who wanted to build something for the people to enjoy end remember him. Romans from every social class enjoyed themselves in the impressive, exquisitely detailed building. It also created a sense of unity among the people. The "baths" remained in use until the 6th century. That makes our Roman mall 1800 years old, and in use for more than 300 years. Impressive isn’t it? It could easily accommodate 1600 people at a time with daily visitors between 6000 to 8000. This ancient “mall” was not far from the emperor’s palace - walking distance of 15-20 minutes.

Sadly, this is what usually happens with us the tourists: we visit the main places, duly described in all guides, and we can easily miss something so impressive that shapes the today's world. This place that supposed to be a “bath” turned to be the first true mall in the world, large enough to match the modern malls. As more I look more I am amazed how much developed was the society and how similar it was to the modern world like no other ancient civilization.