| Maldive Islands | Geography & Climate | History & Culture | Religion & Language | Currency & Communication | Education & Health | The Capital |
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The Maldives is spread across the Indian Ocean - north of the equator and southwest of the Indian peninsular. A chain of 1190 small coral islands stretch over an area of around 90,000 square kilometers. What is most attention-grabbing, though, is that only one percent of this considerably large territory is land. The rest is all taken up by the vast blue Indian Ocean . The 1190 islands of the Maldives are naturally grouped into 26 atolls. The distribution of islands in the atolls is random, the number of islands belonging to an atoll varying from one to the other. No more than 200 of these islands are locally inhabited. 88 have been chosen for resort development and the rest are all desert islands - some rarely ever set foot on by man. It is the endless ocean which separates the islands which contributes to the Maldivian air of mystery. It is also these geographical features which have helped Maldives retain its natural beauty and centuries old traditions. The chain of 1190 little coral islands scattered across the Indian Ocean that forms the archipelago of the Maldives in 80 – 120 km wide, stretching 860 km from latitude 7° 6”N to 0° 41” S and lying between 72° 32” and 73° 45”E. Out of the 1190 islands, only 201 islands are inhabited. Almost 99% of the country being the ocean, it is one of the most unique nations in the world. A nation with less than one percent land and over 99 percent sea the weather obviously plays a significant role in day-to-day life. The Maldives has a tropical climate with warm temperatures year round and a great deal of sunshine. The summer never ends in the Maldives . Although it is warm throughout the year there are slight variations in the temperature during certain periods determined by the monsoon from November to April is mostly dry with very little wind, while the Southwest monsoon from May to October brings some rain and the temperature varies very little. The annual average daily temperature is between 30.4 and 25.4 degrees Celsius. The average rainfall is below 2mm per annum. The warm tropical climate results in relatively minor variations in daily temperature throughout the year. Average temperature is 30 degrees celcius. Archaeological and historical discoveries indicate that the islands have been inhabited over three thousand years. Being on an important trade route, Maldives was visited by people from all over the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These visitors left a strong influence on the people, their religion and the culture of the Maldives. A proud history and rich culture evolved from the first settlers who were from various parts of the world traveling the seas in ancient times. The Maldives has been a melting pot of different cultures as people from different parts of the world came here and settled down. Some of the local music and dance for instance resemble African influences. As one would expect there is a great South Asian influence especially in the traditional food of the Maldivians. Many of the traditions are strongly related to the seas and the fact that life is dependent on the seas around us. 100% Sunni Muslim. Maldives is perhaps the only country with a 100% Muslim population. Islam was introduced around A.D.800, and the moderate form practiced in Maldives has remained virtually unchanged. Since Maldives embraced Islam in 1153, Island has been central to the life of Maldivians. The main events and festivalss of Maldivian life follow the Muslim Calendar. From infancy children are taught the Arabic alphabet. Religious education is provided both at home and at school. Islam is part of the school curriculum and is taught concurrently with other subjects. Dhivehi is the language spoken in all parts of the Maldives . English is widely spoken by Maldivians and visitors can easily make themselves understood getting around the capital island. The Maldivian script known as thaana was invented during the 16th century soon after the country was liberated from Portuguese rule. Unlike former scripts thaana is written from right to left. This was devised to accommodate Arabic words that are frequently used in Dhivehi. There are 24 letters in the thaana alphabet. In most of the resorts, a variety of languages are spoken by the staff including English, German, French, Italian and Japanese. The Maldivian currency is the Rufiyaa and Laaree. The exchange rate for US Dollar at the time of writing is MRf.12.85 for the dollar. One Rufiyaa is equivalent to 100 laarees. Rufiyaa bank notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500. Coins are in the denominations of MRf.2.00, MRf.1.00, 50 laarees, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 laaree. The US Dollar is the most commonly used foreign currency. Payments in the resorts and hotels can be made in most hard currency in cash, travellers' cheques or credit cards. Most commonly used credit cards are American Express, Visa, Master Card, Diners Club, JCB and Euro Card. Foreign currency can be exchanged at any authorised moneychanger at the banks in Male'. It can be exchanged at the airport on arrival or at the resort islands. Telecommunications services are provided by Dhiraagu; a joint venture between the Government of Maldives and Cable and Wireless Co. of the UK and by Wataniya ; a joint venture between the government of Maldives and Wataniya main company.. International Direct Dialing is available at all the resorts, with most having telephones in the rooms. All the inhabited islands are linked with telephones. Internet services are available at all the resorts and prepaid and post paid mobile service and additional roaming services within Europe and other areas are also available for visitors. Maldives has a small population of just over 300,000 people living about 200 islands. The country is blessed with clean air and there are hardly any mass pollution and population movements. Visitors to the Maldives do not require any vaccinations or medications against Malaria before travelling to the Maldives unless they are coming from a yellow fever infected area. There are two hospitals in Male', many clinics, pharmacies and a number of good doctors both in private practice and at the hospitals. A physician is also within easy reach from all resorts islands. Maldives has some of the finest Health and Spa resorts in the world, for those who prefer such a holiday.English medium education was introduced to the country in the 1960s. Although Male' is still the main center of secondary and higher education, education opportunities are available throughout the country. The GCE Ordinary Level Examination of the University of Cambridge is conducted at about 50 centers throughout the country. Education opportunities and education attainment have increased dramatically in recent years. Every inhabited island has at least one school catering to primary level education. This is in line with objective of providing a basic level of primary education to all by the year 2000. The Maldives College of Higher Education has under its umbrella a number of faculties including, health, tourism and hospitality, management and computing and technical education. The national literacy rate is 98.4%. Male' is the commercial and political hub of the country. It is home to all government ministries and departments, all of the larger private companies, banks, communications and the key institutions that control the nation's economic and social life. By most standards with nearly 100,000 residents Male' can be considered a capital of high population density. Surprisingly, visitors are not likely to view Male' as over crowded. |
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