Male´, Maldives

That's what I call "an end of the runway"

Male´from the ship. Mosque to the right.

Just some of the goodies in the market.

Just one of the Islands we saw from our balcony. 

Shop until you drop and then hook it all to your bike or motorscooter.

Mary in front of the mosque. 

Hi All...

Got this on the blog days ago (we've been at sea for 3 days) and before i could save, the internet connection went down. All pics were lost so I am starting over as we get near the Seychelles. We arrive there in 3 hrs. The internet seems to work better as we get close to land.) Bob has been a bit under the weather with a cold that try to take hold of him. I homeopathically saved the day! He's much better. 

Male´, Maldives 

It’s Sunday, Dec. 4th in our part of the world. Our location is southwest of Sri Lanka (basically at the bottom of India), on the equator in the southern atolls. Male is not spectacular, but quite unique as a capital city. Male´ would count as one of the smallest capitals in the world. Compared to India, it’s clean. With a maze of streets, markets and port areas. Since Male is only 2 sq. Kilometers, it’s easy to walk  around from the jetty and find your way. Our ship is anchored 5 min. off the jetty. About 75,000 people live on this island. It’s a city of high rise buildings, lanes so narrow that a cars barely fit through. One small beach is on the island; seawalls surround it on all sides.  The streets are shaded with trees. 

I strolled the fish market, local market, the 400 year old Friday Mosque, the Sultans Park area and saw the small newly landscaped artificial beach area.  Then, to get an insight of the pace of life on Male´, I walked the residential streets and shopping streets. Bob took the tender in with me, but felt like a cold was coming on and had no energy so he went back to the ship. I walked around by myself for about 2 hours in the stifling, sticky heat. I felt very safe. 

This is a Muslim country. With respect for their religion, I wore a shirt that covered my shoulders and capris to cover my knees. For entering the Mosque, I put a hat on my head. No one begged or bothered me. They mostly try to avoid tourists and look away if you are looking at them. Many of the women wear the abaya, all black from head to toe with black pants underneath, covering the ankles. How do they survive? I was soaking wet! I saw a Muslim woman with her hubby (he’s in jeans and a tee-shirt) holding her adorable baby. I said, “Your baby is beautiful.” She smiled at me (some have their whole face covered, some not) and they started talking to me. Since I wasn’t trying to take a picture, they were happy to talk and have me ooh and ahh over their precious little girl. The baby was a bit fearful at first and kept staring at my gray hair. Finally, I got a smile out of her. 

At the fish market and the local market, I watched families doing their daily shopping. I saw a few unusual items and wondered what they were, but no one spoke enough English to translate. I saw one of the crew from our ship buying fresh fish. He had HUGE yellow-fin tuna and other small fish in a big container. We’ll be having fresh sushi tonight!

The language here is Dhivehi, a language which is placed in the Indro-Indian group of languages with Sanskrit as its roots.  Given the widespread dispersion of the islands in the Maldives (1,190 coral islands form an archipelago of 26 major atolls), their language has evolved with many widespread dialects spoken. 202 of the islands are inhabited and 87 are exclusive resort islands. They have 24 letters in their alphabet and their written language is from right to left. Last night, a local folkloric group of 4 women came onboard to dance. Their music was in Dhivehi. It sounded a bit like African music. 

The culture in the Maldives is centered on the sea. Fishing is the main economy along with tourism. People from all over the world come here to dive.  Many traditions are strongly related to the sea. Life is dependent on the seas around them. From our ship’s balcony, we watch water taxis, large and small boats, fishing boats, boats filled with goods and a variety of other watercraft scurrying from island to island. On the island of Male´ there are a few cars, but a motor scooter is the main way to get around. 

The most interesting fact is the geography of the place. The atolls of the Maldives are formed from coral structures which are a part of a ridge that stretches over 2000 K. The islands are low lying with the highest point in the Maldives being a whopping 8 ft. about sea level! Before we left, I did a bit of research. These islands are due to disappear by the year 2100, as the sea level keeps rising. 


P.S. I'd go back to India in a heartbeat. Bob however cannot handle the begging. It really is a very fascinating place.
I'll go back someday with girlfriends. There's so much to see and do in the world! I love traveling everywhere. A cruise is a great way to see 9 countries in 30 days. Still, it's not enough time to really "see" each place.