It is a dream haven — where incredible out-of-this-world beauty is found on a chain of 1,200 coral reef island on a volcanic ridge foundation in the midst of the Indian Ocean just west of Sri Lanka. They call this haven the Maldives.
The Maldives are small mountainless islands, only eight feet above sea level. Walking completely around an island takes only 15 to 20 minutes depending on how fast you walk!
The islands themselves are a piece of divine artwork. The white and spotless sands of the beaches make you hesitate to walk on them for fear of disturbing their beauty with your footprints.
The water is crystal clear. It is almost transparent and you can see all the way down where many different, colorful fishes are seen swimming freely in the warm sea. The color of the water varies with the angle of sunlight although turquoise is the most constant.
At sunset, you will stand breathless and speechless taking in the sights and color variations that are reflected on the clouds from the glassy water.
For divers and snorkelers, it is yet another wonder of the world with beautiful corals and fascinating marine life. Snorkeling in the waters of the Maldives provides scenery, which strongly competes with the Red Sea under water variety.
Whether snorkeling in waters just outside your bungalow or diving beyond the reef, you will be impressed with the number of features and photo opportunities. Organized trips and excursions are offered on a regular basis particularly if you are staying in one of the resort islands.
Such excursions include safaris or picnic trips to uninhabited islands, diving, shopping in Male — the capital island — or a boat trip on to the sea for big game fishing where you will be extremely unlucky not to pull in at least one in two hours.
The Maldives is an independent Muslim republic with nearly 250,000 inhabitants. They are mostly fishermen and the population is 100 percent Muslim. The islands are an archipelago of nearly 1,190 separate islands which have been inhabited for 3,500 years.
The republic officially declared Islam as the state religion in the 12th century, which corresponds to 1153AD, after the arrival of a Moroccan Muslim named Abdul Barakaath Yousuf Al-Barbary who brought Islam to the islands’ Buddhists.
The people were so convinced with the logic of the new religion and spirit that the entire population embraced Islam. Since then, Islam has been an essential part of every day life in the Maldives. It has molded the inhabitants’ personalities in a conservative way.
The republic covers a total area of 34,740 square miles, 99.699 percent of which is water leaving only 0.331 percent as land which totals 115 square miles. Of all the islands, only 200 are inhabited. The Maldives border India and Sri Lanka from the north and east.
Tourism and Fishing are the main sources of income with the former providing around 70 percent of foreign exchange. German and Italian tourists are the majority of all nationalities visiting the Maldives.
The people of the Maldives are very hospitable and recognize the importance of tourism which represents their main source of income.
The Maldives was a sultanate till the end of December 1952. Despite major reforms on the social and educational levels, a little unrest caused the fall of the first republic and the return of the sultanate a year later in 1954. Until that time, the country was still under the British.
The sultanate survived until the reign of Sultan Muhammad Fureed Al-Awwal in 1968 and it gained independence after signing an agreement with the UK High Commissioner in July 1965.
The Maldives became a member of the United Nations in September of the same year. The sultanate was abolished and a second republic was formed under the elected president, Ibrahim Nassir on Nov. 11, 1968, the day which is now commemorated as the Maldives Republic Day. The Maldives became a member of the Commonwealth in 1982.
Visitors to the islands are encouraged not to take anything from the beaches or the water. Leave only footprints and take only memories.
If you are still tempted to take home a souvenir, you must realize that most of what is sold on the islands is imported and thus represents no local craft so it is best to buy something with Maldives written on it such as T shirts or shells.
The food on the resort islands is International. Italian and Chinese restaurants or buffets of different cuisines grilled in open air are available. Usually package tours to the islands are on bed and breakfast basis or half or full board.
Food is never a problem. As far as spending money, everything is priced in US dollars. You can buy anything on credit with your room number and pay at checkout time.
In addition to diving courses or lessons, all resorts have basic recreation facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts and a gym as well as ping pong, snooker and carom, which is a sort of billiards played on a small square table using fingers to pot the flat coins – colored black and white with a red in the center — instead of cues as in snooker.
Finally, if you consider going to Maldives, it would be wise to take minimum of luggage because you will not use half the things you normally do. And remember to keep enough money to pay the airport departure tax of $10 per person.
