The Maldives

We have left the influence of Europe for lands that are Asian and Islam in culture. Though the Portugese settled the Maldives, today the country is predominantly moderate Moslem with some Indian and other Asian residents. There are many more men on the streets than women though few women wear a full burkah.

The scooter is the major means of transportation in the main city of Male and crossing a street is life threatening. While most riders are male, we did see some women also driving. The markets are filled with local produce, much of it strange to us including the scrolpine fruit pictured below. The fish market bustles with fresh catch, some still twitching. All the markets are clean and have minimal odor.

We visited the Grand Friday Mosque as well as the Moslem Cemetery where the Sultan who converted the islands from Buddhism to Islam is buried. The year-old National Museum has ancient and medieval artifacts and a collection of Qurans that have beautiful calligraphy and gilding and some that are so small they require a magnifying glass to read. Walking the maze of streets is harrowing because of the traffic but quite safe in terms of the people.


We have not yet gone into the water to sea the beautiful coral life so we hopped aboard a submarine. Hopped is the operative word. We went from tender to boat to platform to submarine, all of which were rocking side to side and bouncing up and down. Then we went down 100 feet to the sea floor and a coral reef where we enjoyed looking at tetras, zebrafish, tuna, parrotfish and more. The whole adventure was worth a few little bruises.

Our second day was spent on a walking tour of Male with a local guide. We visited the produce and the fish market that we had wandered through on our own on the first day then, after the tour, we set off on our own to look at the town. Jerry wanted a picture of a woman, in a burkah, driving a motorbike and talking on a cell phone. Sure enough, Anna Lee got one. Quite a contrast. Anna Lee had to wander into a couple of book stores were she was amazed at the variety of children’s books, both in Arabic and in English. The stores carried a lot of western books including Harry Potter which appears to be very popular here. Back on board we were able to hear the Moslem call to worship which is done by a real mezzuzin.