Interesting facts about the Maldives

The Maldives is a very unusual state. And it's not even that it is located on coral islands . There are many other things that only those who have already visited this country of South-East Asia know about. Let's find out what is hidden behind the paradisiacal word "Maldives"!

Top 25 interesting facts about the Maldives

So, what you need to know when going here:

  1. Island state. The country does not lie on solid ground, but on atolls. Maldives, having a maximum altitude of only 2.4 m ( Addu Atoll ), is considered the lowest situated state in the world. At the same time, some islands have already left on water - there are only bungalow houses on high stilts - and the whole country is slowly but surely moving in the same direction.
  2. Flooding of islands. Once the government of the Maldives arranged an unusual meeting - underwater! Not surprisingly, it was devoted to the problem of raising the level of the World Ocean.
  3. Climate. The weather here is very stable: year-round heat reigns, on average + 25 ° C.
  4. Atolls. The whole country is located on 21 atoll - ring-shaped islands, which are coral elevations on the ocean floor. In total there are 1,192 islands, of which only about 200 are inhabited, and 44 islands are adapted exclusively for the recreation of foreign guests. To get to the usual residential, rather than a tourist island, a tourist needs to get a special permit.
  5. Flag of the Republic of Maldives. His red cloth with a green rectangle in the center symbolizes the desire for victory, while the crescent inside says that the country is Muslim.
  6. The name of the state. It literally translates as "Palace Islands": the word "Mahal" means "palace", and "diva", respectively, "island".
  7. Religion. Many are surprised that the Maldives is an Islamic state. The overwhelming majority of the population here professes Islam of the Sunni type. Moreover, only an orthodox Muslim can be a citizen of the Republic of Maldives. This country ranks 7th in the list of those where the rights of Christians are being oppressed most. Nevertheless, tourists are not threatened with rest.
  8. Economy. The main sectors of the economy here are tourism and fishing.
  9. Language. The official language of the Maldives is Dhivehi (Dhivehi). It belongs to the Indo-Aryan group and is actually a mixture of Sinhala, English and Arabic. It is interesting that, for example, the concept of "love" for Dhivehi can be expressed in three words at once: "Lobiabi" (to the opposite sex), "Aleihikhsha" (to the child) and "Hituege adiq gabuulkaran" (to God). With tourists here communicate mainly in English.
  10. The capital of the Maldives. The city of Male has an area of ​​only 5.8 square meters. km. It is one of the most densely populated on the globe: the population is more than 133 thousand people!
  11. Literacy. It is 95.6%, which is a very high indicator.
  12. Transport. Its main view on the islands are boats. Ground transportation is available only in the capital and on the atolls of Laam and Addu, and instead of asphalt, compacted coral crumb is used here. There are no railways as such, and there is only one airport in the country.
  13. Security. Since the first hotel was established on the territory of the country (Kurumba Maldives in 1972), there have been no recorded cases of shark attacks on humans. This interesting fact about the Maldives favors the fact that more and more tourists are choosing a state on atolls for a vacation.
  14. Beaches. Some tourists will be very surprised to learn that bathing on the beaches of the country, these traditions allow only in clothing that covers the elbows and knees. However, there are several so-called bikini-beaches, where foreigners can afford to relax in traditional swimsuits and pareos.
  15. Nature. To her, the local authorities are very careful, understanding that this is their main wealth. One of the Maldives laws states that the hotel building should not be above the highest on the island of palm trees. There is another law - that the artificially built up part of the island should be no more than 20% of its territory.
  16. Nudist rest. About that, to sunbathe and swim without swimsuits or at least topless, you should not even think - here it is prohibited by law. An exception is only one single island - Kuramathi .
  17. Clothes of local women. Paranju Muslim women in the Maldives are not worn.
  18. Crafts. Among folk crafts one of the most popular is carving.
  19. Music and dancing. The most famous musical group of the Maldives is "Zero Degree Atoll", and the dance - the famous "I take the bod", which is performed to the accompaniment of the big drums.
  20. Alcohol. Thanks to "Islamic traditions, drinks" with a degree "in the Maldives are very rare and expensive. Import them is strictly prohibited, and alcohol can be bought only in an expensive hotel, restaurant or on specially plying along the islands of boats. However, do not expect that you will like the price of alcohol.
  21. Water. Another interesting fact about the water in the Maldives is that there is no river and only one small freshwater lake. For drinking, local residents use desalinated sea water, as well as rainwater.
  22. Customs. Strange, in the opinion of the European, the tradition is that the indigenous inhabitants of the Maldives do not greet each other. Here it is simply not accepted! Nevertheless, they have already reconciled themselves to the fact that there are always a lot of friendly tourists here and silently nod in response. And each other the Maldivians are often called by their last names.
  23. History of the country. It was quite stormy: the Maldives several times passed from one metropolis to another. First, in the 16th century, it was the Portuguese. Then the power was seized by the Dutch, and in the nineteenth century it was transferred to the English. And only in 1965 the state finally gained long-awaited independence.
  24. Full relax. In this paradise town there are very few attractions , and from entertainment - only diving and snorkeling, and even a traditional lazy holiday on the beach. For this reason, mainly tourists come here who dream of at least a week's isolation from the bustle and really relax. "No news, no shoes" - speak the Maldives: this means that you can walk without shoes (everywhere sand) and not be interested in news. Actually there is no television here, only a few radio stations.
  25. A paradise for the newlyweds. Maldives is very often visited for honeymooning, and recently it has become very popular to hold weddings here.