According to ITYPEMBA, Male is the capital of the Maldives. This is one of the smallest capitals in the world – its area is only 1.8 sq. km. There are no buses, no car rental, and it is not required. You can walk around the whole island in half an hour. True, there are taxis on the island. The price is fixed, regardless of the duration of the trip. It increases at night. Male
has everything that should be in an oriental city: mosques, a market, many souvenir shops, small cafes with exotic dishes and more.
The main attractions of the city are the metropolitan and national museums, the mosques of Friday and Hukuru Miskiity, the Esjehi gallery. The capital’s museum exhibits stone sculptures and coral compositions taken from Buddhist temples back in the 12th century, as well as the thrones of the Maldivian sultans (the last of them was removed from power in 1968). In the national museum, located in a small three-story building (the remains of the former palace of the sultans), you can get acquainted with the history and culture of the Maldives. The collection contains items that belonged to the ruling dynasty. The most interesting part of the collection is exhibits from pre-Islamic times, the collection of which was collected by Thor Heyerdahl. The Friday Mosque, built with funds from the Gulf countries, Pakistan, Brunei and Malaysia opened in 1984. Initially, it was assumed that the minaret of this mosque would be the tallest building on the island, but the TV tower still turned out to be higher. The Hukuru Miskiity Mosque, located next to the Friday Mosque, was built in 1656 and is the oldest on the island. Its walls are made of coral and the outside is covered with carvings and inscriptions in Arabic. Inside the mosque is decorated with carved panels and lacquerware. The Esjehi Gallery houses artisan workshops and exhibitions of traditional Maldivian products.
In Male there is practically no entertainment typical of resort towns. The main entertainment is a walk along the colorful streets of the town, along the seaport, along the embankment or in the park. You can go fishing. The bite is excellent, tuna and barracuda are caught, and the catch is usually enough to have a candlelit dinner on the shore in a small “barbecue” – a kind of fish kebab – when you return. After that, as a rule, dances begin to the national drum music. For lovers of unusual entertainment, the original offer is crab racing, arranged in the manner of cockroaches. In order to become the owner of a coastal crab, you must pay an amount equal to the price of two cans of beer.
What to See in in Maldives
Hotels in the Maldives offer on their territory many sports for outdoor enthusiasts: windsurfing, catamarans, kayaks, canoes, parasailing, snorkeling, diving, beach volleyball, football, tennis (large and table), badminton, squash, gym, aerobics, board games.
There are no animation programs in the Maldives resorts (with the exception of Italian chain hotels, but, unfortunately, these hotels often work mainly for the Italian market) and not all hotels offer an evening program. In hotels offering an evening and night program, you can find: a disco, karaoke (even in Russian) and just relaxing music in the bar.
Excursion around Male
Male is the smallest capital in the world (length 2.5 km, width – 1 km). Its main attraction is the Great Friday mosque, decorated with a golden dome. The Islamic Center is located on its territory. This largest mosque in the Maldives can accommodate more than 5,000 people at the same time.
Nearby is the old mosque “Good Friday” with a unique minaret, the graves of national heroes and members of the ruling families. Among other sights of the capital, the Presidential Palace, the National Museum located in the Sultan’s Park, and the burial places of the legendary Maldivian saints deserve attention. It is also interesting to visit the colorful local markets – fruit, vegetable and handicraft – places where the inhabitants of many Maldivian islands bring goods. There is practically no entertainment in the capital. No nightclubs, no concert halls, no theaters. The main entertainment is a walk along the colorful streets of the town, along the seaport, along the embankment or in the park.
Outdoor fishing.
The bite is excellent, tuna and barracuda are caught, and the catch is usually enough to have a candlelit dinner on the shore in a small “barbecue” – a kind of fish kebab on return. After that, as a rule, dances begin to the national drum music. Maldives
Tour (Full Day)
Trip to a fishing village where you can visit a long line of souvenir shops, to one of the uninhabited islands for diving, snorkeling, relaxing on the beach with a barbecue lunch, to tourist island resorts (1-2) for exploring other hotels – visiting bars, souvenir shops and just relaxing.
Fishing for large non-commercial fish
Fishing is carried out mainly outside the atolls on special boats equipped for catching large fish, with a radar system to detect schools of fish.
Glass bottom boat A glass bottom
boat ride along the coral reef around the island where your hotel is located. This excursion is mainly for small children and those who are afraid to swim in open water.
Helicopter tours
Several types of helicopter tours are offered: a short aerial filming tour of the islands, their surrounding lagoons, coral reefs, and if you’re lucky, huge rays and pods of dolphins; excursions to distant islands to other atolls to the north and south by helicopter and seaplane, the program includes: visiting a fishing village, uninhabited islands with a barbecue lunch, nearby tourist resorts.
Snorkeling – Snorkelling An instructor-led snorkeling trip to a deserted island along the coral reefs. You can also swim independently in the lagoon and along the coral reef around the island where your hotel is located.
Diving
in every hotel has its own Dive Center, with a PADI diving school and experienced instructors. Beginners can take a scuba diving course and receive an international certificate. Experienced divers can improve their skills and take refresher courses.
Beginners can dive in areas with soft corals, gentle slopes and plenty of tropical fish. Experienced divers are given the opportunity to night dive and drift in the undercurrent, as well as many steep walls, caves and even shipwrecks. You can swim underwater in the Maldives everywhere – both in the lagoon near the resort and on remote reefs. In the Maldives – 26 atolls, consisting of many small coral islands. Each atoll surrounds a large 40 – 90 m deep lagoon. The calm water in the lagoon creates favorable conditions for the formation of branching and reef-building corals, which are home to about 900 species of tropical fish.
Diving centers organize various types of water safaris. The program, as a rule, includes: diving in two different places of one or different atolls, rest with a barbecue lunch on one of the uninhabited islands.
